Erue
by frozencinders
Summary: After a certain incident, Ling Tong is forced to see Gan Ning in a new light as they finally try to get along.
1. Iniuriam

Ling Tong sighed heavily as he tried to catch his breath. Looking around at the dead bodies of his allies around him, he supposed he counted himself lucky that both he and his lord had survived the mess. Ling Tong had only just barely gotten that monster Zhang Liao to retreat, though the loud general had promised it was only temporary. Ling Tong believed it, considering he hadn't been able to do much damage by himself, which he was ashamed of.

Resisting the urge to sit down after all that happened, Ling Tong allowed himself to close his eyes as his breathing finally evened out, content with the promise to himself that he would stay upright in case anything happened. Not realizing how tired he was, Ling Tong began to lose his balance. As he fell, he noticed an officer running at him, barely grazing Ling Tong as he struggled to right himself. Unfortunately, this man was quicker than Ling Tong, and he envisioned himself with a spear through the heart as the officer thrust said weapon forward.

However, the weapon had halted and quickly moved away from Ling Tong as the officer pointed it at someone else, obviously taken by surprise. Ling Tong attempted to look to where the officer was facing as his elbows gave out, causing him to fall onto his back and hit his head. Closing his eyes again as he rubbed it, he noticed an obnoxious jingling sound coming towards him and hesitating footsteps walking away from him. He held back a groan as he realized Gan Ning had probably just saved his life.

As he opened his eyes again, Ling Tong was greeted with yet another corpse falling to the ground beside him. Gan Ning walked forward wordlessly, which was odd for him, and extended a hand. Ling Tong considered turning away, but the shock of the situation as well as how tired he was prevented him from doing so as he not-so-reluctantly grabbed onto it. The pirate pulled him up a lot rougher than he would have liked, and Ling Tong watched his vision turn black. He assumed it was just the blood rushing to his head, but he felt himself being caught before the rest of his senses failed him as well.

* * *

Ling Tong awoke and looked around, surprised to find himself in his own room. He considered sitting up, but sighed as he considered he might faint again. How long had he been asleep, he wondered? Before he could decide to get up and ask around, the door to his room was opened rather quietly.

"Oh, you're awake already?" The voice made him scowl reflexively.

"What do you mean, already?" Ling Tong asked, slightly annoyed, as was his default mood around the pirate, "How long have I been asleep? I know I slept the whole way here, but how much longer than that?"

Gan Ning looked confused at that, though that wasn't very surprising considering what Ling Tong always guessed the size of his brain to be.

"What are you talking about? You weren't asleep for the whole ride," he said, his confused look slowly morphing into worry as he strode towards Ling Tong's bed.

"What..? Then, when did I wake up?" Gan Ning hummed slightly, sitting down beside Ling Tong.

"Well, I guess you probably weren't fully awake. You were just saying some nonsense with your eyes barely open. It sure gave us a laugh, though."

"W-what sort of nonsense? And, who else was there to hear it?" Ling Tong asked, practically begging Gan Ning to say it wasn't something embarrassing.

"Nothing, really. Something about how color was important, and you punched me for laughing, but didn't seem to have a problem with Sun Quan and the others in the tent." He chuckled as he remembered it and Ling Tong sighed in relief that it wasn't too bad. They sat in silence for a minute before Gan Ning spoke up again.

"So, anything to say to me?"

Ling Tong sat up and looked straight past Gan Ning as he tried to swallow his pride.

"Th..." Finding himself unable to say what he meant, his anger acted for him. "The door's right there, why don't you use it?"

Gan Ning clicked his tongue, only slightly irritated.

"Alright, I guess you'll just have to make it up to me instead."

"Yeah? What do you want, then?" Ling Tong mumbled, his mind taking what the pirate said somewhere terrifying.

"What, you can't guess? Did you lose some brain cells when you hit your head or something?" he joked, moving his hand to gently pat the bandages around the brunet's head, which Ling Tong himself hadn't noticed.

"... Free drinks?" he shyly suggested, earning a smile from Gan Ning.

"Yeah, there you go. But, I guess I'll have to wait until you've fully recovered," he added, pointing at the bandages around the rest of the man's body. Finally taking a moment to examine himself, Ling Tong found bandages wrapped around most of his torso as well as his left wrist and his upper right arm. He gave a small noise of disapproval as he gestured towards the desk in the corner of his room with his good wrist.

"There's money in that pouch. Go get the drinks yourself." Gan Ning shook his head.

"Nah, it's no fun drinking alone. I'll just wait for you," he said, getting up and walking towards the door before Ling Tong could argue with him.

"I guess it's something to look forward to," he conceded, gently laying back down as he heard the door close.


	2. Recuperatio

"You should be fine as long as you don't strain yourself too much," the nurse assured, "so that means no fighting for a while. You had better take a break from training, too."

Ling Tong sighed, secretly pleased to hear that he had an excuse to slack off, but also slightly worried he might lose his touch if his body takes too long to heal.

"For how long?" he asked. The nurse showed him a piece of paper, scrawled with the infamously bad handwriting of a doctor. Two weeks, it said. It also had a warning not to drink alcohol, which Ling Tong silently cursed at. Awkwardly thanking the nurse as he left, Ling Tong made a beeline for Gan Ning's room, deciding when he got there that it probably would have been better if he'd have brought the paper as proof.

Ling Tong sighed again, entering the room without announcing himself. The pirate was sleeping, probably since it was still early in the morning. Ling Tong walked towards the bed without attempting to stay silent, but failed to wake him anyway.

"You're a damn warrior, how can you sleep so heavily?" he murmured to himself, looking around for Gan Ning's chain scythe. Sure enough, as soon as he pointed it at the pirate, his eyes shot open and he gave the brunet a look he couldn't quite decipher.

"I have bad news," he said, "I can't drink with you for about two weeks."

"What?! But you look plenty healed!" Gan Ning protested, sitting up and throwing his legs over the side of the bed. Ling Tong thanked whatever gods may have existed that the man was dressed.

"Yeah, I thought so too, but the doctor said no fighting, including training, and no alcohol for two weeks." Ling Tong wondered if he would regret not bringing that paper, but Gan Ning simply clicked his tongue and groaned as he leaned back.

"Fine, but you better not forget that you still have to buy me drinks, because I sure won't," he warned, "but it's not like I'm gonna stop drinking completely until then, so I guess it's not that bad. Sucks for you, though."

"Thanks, I didn't know you could be so sympathetic," he said, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. He raised a brow when the blond smiled at him.

"See, it wasn't so hard to say thanks." Ling Tong stuttered at that.

"W-wait, you know I was-"

"Anyway," Gan Ning interrupted, "I guess that means you won't be able to drink at that little party Sun Quan wanted to throw for your recovery, huh?"

"A party? But I barely even got hurt... Well, I guess I was out cold for a while, but still."

"He was real worried about you. The old man was, too. I guess everyone cares about you," he said, finally standing up.

"Would that include you?" Ling Tong asked, eager to catch the slightest hint of blush on the pirate's cheeks, but unfortunately, he didn't.

"What, the party?" Gan Ning squinted in confusion as he considered it for a brief second. "Oh, you mean people who care about you. Yeah, I care. We're friends, aren't we?"

"Friends?" the brunet asked, sounding completely offended.

"Yeah, friends. People who fight on the same side are friends," he reasoned. Ling Tong guessed it made sense. They sat in an awkward almost-silence as Gan Ning collected his bells and attached them to himself, as well as giving a half-hearted attempt at fixing his hair up a bit with one hand.

"So..." Ling Tong drawled, eager to break the silence between them, "when's this party, exactly?"

"Tomorrow, I think. Why, are you actually going?"

Ling Tong sighed. "No, I think the alcohol would be too tempting."

"It'd hardly be a party without the guest of honor! Don't worry, I'll drink enough for both of us," Gan Ning assured.

"Wow, having to go to a party where I can't even drink AND having to deal with a drunk pirate? I can't wait," Ling Tong joked, knowing there would still be food and other things to enjoy besides drinks.

"Oh, is that how you feel? Fine then, I'll get extra drunk, just for you," the pirate laughed and Ling Tong couldn't help but chuckle alongside him. The smile dropped off his face when he realized that they were actually... getting along. He supposed it was fitting, considering the pirate did just save his life, but it was still odd to think about. Gan Ning surprised Ling Tong by throwing an arm over his shoulder.

"Hey, don't look so sad. How about I make you look away every time I take a drink?" he offered. Ling Tong rolled his eyes again, smile returning.

"You're so thoughtful. Anyway, though, I guess I'll look for lord Sun Quan and everyone else, just to let them know I'm alright."

"Fine by me. I'll see you later," the pirate said, waving as he left Ling Tong in his room. The brunet took the opportunity to look around, but quickly figured he might find something he didn't want to see and hurried out the door after Gan Ning.


	3. Taedium

"Ah, Gongji!"

Ling Tong turned around to see Sun Quan emerging from a room he had passed. He gave a casual salute and bowed his head slightly at his lord.

"Hello, lord Sun Quan. I heard something about a party for me?"

"Yes," Sun Quan beamed, clearly excited to see Ling Tong was walking again, "I thought it would be appropriate. You're such an important member of our army, and even for the relatively short time you were out of commission, everyone acted as if you were dead. It would only be fitting if we celebrated your recovery, don't you agree?"

Ling Tong suppressed a frown as he shifted his weight to one side, "Well, I'm not actually fully recovered yet, is the thing. The doctor said I can't drink for two weeks..."

"Ah... then we will just have to postpone the party until then!"

"My lord?" Ling Tong was slightly surprised.

"It isn't fair to throw a party that you wouldn't be able to enjoy. I'll let everyone know the party is being rescheduled, so don't worry about it..." Sun Quan's expression turned more serious, "I really am so relieved you're alright, Gongji. I don't know what I would do without you..."

Ling Tong shook his head, waving his hands in front of him.

"Come on, I'm fine. Don't get so sentimental in the hall where anyone could see, my lord," he half-joked, knowing Sun Quan wouldn't mind if caring about his soldiers was confirmed even further into his reputation.

"... I suppose you're right," he conceded, "I'll hold a meeting with a few people and have them spread the word about the rescheduling. Enjoy your next two weeks off, Gongji."

Sun Quan left with that, and Ling Tong was once again at a loss for what to do with his time. He couldn't train, he had enough sleep even for one as lazy as himself, he had already eaten... What else was there to do? Suddenly struck by inspiration, Ling Tong left to find Gan Ning again.

* * *

After a short while of searching, Ling Tong found Gan Ning exiting the kitchen, scratching the back of his head as Lianshi said something to him from inside.

"Yeah, yeah..." he mumbled before realizing Ling Tong was in front of him. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to play Go with me," he said, somewhat expecting the pirate to turn him down.

"Go? That strategy game? Why the hell are you asking me of all people to play a strategy game? What, you wanna make fun of me?" he asked, appearing slightly offended.

"Well, I'm no good at it, and I figured it'd be nice to play with someone I might have a chance of winning against." Ling Tong smirked as the pirate sighed and rolled his neck.

"Fine, I'll play your game. I've got no idea how it works, though," he warned.

"Don't worry, I'll teach you what I know. It wouldn't be fun if it wasn't a fair match."

"So, whose room are we doing this at? Yours or mine?" he asked.

"Mine, obviously, since I actually have the game," the brunet answered, rolling his eyes.

Gan Ning sighed a "right," and followed Ling Tong to his room, rubbing the back of his head again as he felt a chopstick being thrown at him. The pirate turned halfway towards the kitchen, but decided against going back, almost bumping into Ling Tong as he continued walking.


	4. Amicitia

Sighing as Gan Ning yawned yet again, Ling Tong put his piece back where it was on the board, unable to find a good spot to place it. He stretched, feeling the pirate's bored eyes on him immediately.

"I'm probably stressing over nothing. There are two moves I can make that put me closer to winning but also make me vulnerable, but I don't think you'd even realize it," he teased. Gan Ning scowled at him.

"Why don't we just say you won, then?" he growled. "This is boring, anyway."

"I guess it is kind of boring to be winning for once. It's definitely a lot less exciting than I thought it would be..."

"I knew you just wanted to make fun of me. You're lucky we can't have a match or I'd fight you right now," the pirate threatened, making Ling Tong roll his eyes.

"I should've known I wouldn't be able to convince you to love this game like I do. I'll just stick to playing with other people, I guess." Ling Tong stretched out the last syllable as he lied back on the floor, feeling too lazy to climb into bed. He raised a brow when he felt the blond's gaze still on him.

"What are you staring at?" he asked, propping himself up on his elbows to meet Gan Ning's eyes.

"Not like there's much else to stare at," he replied, looking away regardless. There was an awkward silence between them until Ling Tong sighed and started putting the pieces to the game back in their case.

"We don't have to stop playing if you don't want to..." he offered, clearly hoping the brunet would continue to put the game away.

"No, there's no point if you're not into it, but," he paused as he stretched, "is there anything else you wanna do? I've got time to kill, after all."

"I'd suggest we go out drinking but I guess you still-"

"Oh, that reminds me! Lord Sun Quan decided to reschedule the party for me. It's in two weeks now," the brunet interrupted, smiling.

"Damn. Well, I guess I've got nothing to do while you heal, too." Gan Ning cursed under his breath as he leaned back against the wall behind him.

"Well, at least you can actually train, unlike me," he reminded, never expecting himself to miss training so much. The two weeks had only just started, too...

"Yeah, but I like training with you. It's not as fun with anyone else." Ling Tong raised a brow.

"What, does your life suddenly revolve around me?" he asked, sounding sarcastic but genuinely curious as to why the pirate was showing him so much attention lately.

"Well, your life revolves around me, doesn't it? Ever since I killed your dad, and all."

"Hey, don't speak so lightly about that."

"What? Come on, it's been... however many years, you're still not over it?"

"What the hell do you mean, 'still not over it'?! You killed my father!" Ling Tong yelled, standing up and glaring at the pirate. Gan Ning stood up, too, though much calmer.

"I saved your life, don't you think that makes up for it?" the pirate asked, an odd look in his eyes. Ling Tong was about to reply, but the door was thrown open.

"That's enough, both of you! Ling Tong, you shouldn't be straining yourself in your condition! Gan Ning, stop irritating him!" Lu Meng punctuated his sentences by smacking the backs of both of their heads. Although Ling Tong got off easy since he was already injured, it still hurt.

"Jeez, why do you always just so happen to be listening when we start arguing, old man?" Gan Ning complained, scowling as he realized Lu Meng had hit the same spot Lianshi did with that chopstick.

"You two are lucky I always catch you, or else you'd end up injuring each other, or worse! If you two don't start getting along soon-"

"Yeah, yeah, you'll get us a counselor or whatever, you say that every time!"

"I mean it. I'll watch the two of you myself if I have to," Lu Meng said, glaring at the blond and softening his gaze just slightly as he looked over at Ling Tong again. The brunet had moved to sit on his bed, eyes closed and hands folded in front of him as he tried to forget about his father for what felt like the thousandth time since the man's death.

"Leave him alone for now," Lu Meng ordered, shooing Gan Ning out the door, "I'm sure he needs his rest."

Lu Meng closed the door before Gan Ning could protest, only walking towards Ling Tong once he heard the sound of the bells getting fainter. He slowly sat down next to him, resisting the urge to pat the man on the back.

"I thought it'd be easier for you two to get along after he saved your life, but I suppose I was wrong." Ling Tong felt a twinge of guilt and opened his mouth to apologize, or reason that Gan Ning still didn't deserve to be forgiven, or anything, but words failed him. Instead, he settled for feeling pathetic as he refused to make eye contact with Lu Meng.

"Don't get the wrong idea, it's not completely your fault. Gan Ning still needs to learn to show some respect, and I'm sure he hasn't even apologized for... what happened, yet," he said, choosing his words carefully so as not to further upset Ling Tong.

"I know he'll never learn any manners and I know he'll never apologize. I guess I just have to accept that if I'm going to try to stand him," he mumbled, trying his best not to seem too sad in front of Lu Meng. Ever since Gan Ning had joined Wu, Ling Tong felt like Lu Meng was their babysitter. He didn't particularly like the idea of a man he respected thinking he couldn't even take care of himself.

"It's good that you're starting to tolerate him, you two desperately need to start acting like friends," he mantained, "but I wouldn't be so sure about him never apologizing."

"What do you mean?" Ling Tong asked as he looked up.

"It seems like Gan Ning really cares about you, considering he saved you and even checked on you once we got home. I'm sure he'll come around eventually." Ling Tong wanted to ask into it a little more, but Lu Meng stood up and began moving towards the door.

"I'm sure we BOTH," he emphasised, "wish you a speedy recovery."

With that, Lu Meng was out the door and Ling Tong was speechless, sitting on his bed with what he was sure was a ridiculous expression on his face.

"He cares about me?" he whispered to himself, laying down even though Lu Meng hadn't closed the door fully.

'I guess it makes sense,' he thought as he felt sleep begin to take him, 'he does keep insisting we're already friends... after all.'


	5. Malacia

Ling Tong opened his eyes, immediately noticing that the sun had gone down. Sighing as he tried and failed to go back to sleep, he sat up and figured he would grab a snack and see if anyone was awake. As soon as he opened the door, he found Gan Ning leaning against the wall across him. Judging by the facts that he still had his bells on and that Ling Tong hadn't heard them, the pirate must have been standing there for a while.

"What are you doing, idiot?" he asked, swearing he could see the tiniest hint of a drunken blush in the dim lighting. He found himself feeling a slight bit jealous. Gan Ning just stood there, staring at the brunet, seemingly deep in thought, until he suddenly moved forward and embraced Ling Tong. Before he could react, the pirate spoke up.

"I had a dream about you the other night, you know," he whispered. Ling Tong could smell the alcohol on his breath as the blond set his chin on the other's shoulder.

"Yeah..? What kind of dream?" Ling Tong reluctantly asked, knowing it was going to be something he didn't want to hear. Gan Ning's grip on him seemed to tighten.

"It was before you woke up. Before the doctor said you'd be alright." the pirate's tone was somber, and the brunet guessed his face was, too. He shifted to get a little more comfortable, moving the bells pressing against his stomach to the side.

"What, did I die or something?" Ling Tong tried to make his tone sound sarcastic to at least give the pirate some sense of familiarity, but it came out sounding almost worried.

"Yeah... even though I saved you, you died anyway. Everyone blamed me for it, and I guess... I did, too," he said, finally pulling away from the brunet, "so I kept checking on you until you woke up."

"Why are you telling me this?" Ling Tong asked, suddenly wondering if Lu Meng was perhaps involved.

"The old man said you think I don't care about you," he answered, proving Ling Tong's suspicions correct, "and he suggested something..."

"What might that be?" Ling Tong leaned against his now closed door, hoping he wouldn't regret it. Gan Ning took a few seconds to stare at him, leaning back on the same spot the brunet had found him.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. Ling Tong waited for him to continue, but he didn't.

"Sorry for what? For letting me die in your dream?" he joked, hoping to lighten the pirate's mood slightly. It was strange seeing him so quiet and serious, and Ling Tong decided he didn't like it at all.

"No, you know what. And, I also wanted to let you know that... I didn't murder him, you know. He came to me on the battlefield, and he was already looking kinda roughed up, but he challenged me, anyway." Ling Tong suddenly found it hard to breathe as he felt his heart beat faster. It wasn't rage, he realized, but he couldn't identify the feeling. At the brunet's speechlessness, Gan Ning continued.

"I know you asked when we first met if I remembered killing him, but I lied and said no. I thought it'd make it worse somehow, if I told you..." the pirate paused for what felt like an hour to Ling Tong until he started to walk away, "but I guess it doesn't matter whether or not it was murder."

Gan Ning then mumbled something Ling Tong couldn't quite catch, and he tried to ask what the pirate said, but a small almost-sob came out instead. Hearing that, Gan Ning stopped walking and immediately moved back towards him.

"Hey, what's wrong? I didn't make it worse, did I..?"

Desperately hoping Gan Ning would forget about it the next morning, he quickly took hold of the pirate's face with both of his hands and kissed him. However, it didn't stop his tears from falling and he tried to retreat into his room, but the blond grabbed Ling Tong's arm and pulled him close again, slowly rubbing the brunet's back as he accidentally let a sob loose into a tattooed shoulder. Ling Tong took a moment to collect himself as he let Gan Ning rock him back and forth slightly.

"Are you gonna be ok?" the pirate asked, his voice oddly pleasant in Ling Tong's ear.

"Yeah... I'll be fine. You should, uh," the brunet desperately searched his mind for something to say, "eat something. You know, so you don't get a hangover tomorrow."

"Already ate. I always eat when I drink," he replied.

"Ah..." Ling Tong was once again out of things to talk about. He tried once more to open the door to his room, but Gan Ning kept holding onto him.

"Hey, think I could stay the night with you?" he asked, taking the brunet by mild surprise, "I promise I won't cause too much trouble. I'm too tired to, anyway."

'No,' he thought, 'tell him no.'

"Yes," Ling Tong mentally cursed at himself, "but only for tonight."

Gan Ning gave a small grin and tugged the brunet's arm as he entered the room, leading him to the bed. Suddenly realizing what was happening, Ling Tong felt blood rush to his face as the blond sat him down. He felt anxious as Gan Ning removed his bells and the small bit of armor he wore, but his pants thankfully stayed on as he lied down on his back. Ling Tong didn't know how the pirate could stand barely wearing anything on such a cool night, and he almost felt the urge to share his body heat as he lied down as well, pulling the blankets over both of them.

Suddenly remembering the times he had to share a tent with other soldiers, he turned Gan Ning onto his side to reduce the chances of him snoring, but it unfortunately seemed as though he was just angrily trying to get the pirate to face him. Misinterpreting the brunet's intentions, Gan Ning looked slightly irritated before adopting a look of understanding. Ling Tong sighed as he thought Gan Ning knew why he had turned him over, but found his exhalation was interrupted by another kiss. Ling Tong felt his face heat up again as he gently placed his hands against the other's chest, completely failing to bring himself to break the kiss.

"Come on," Gan Ning said, pulling Ling Tong close, "let's go to sleep."

Ling Tong nodded and decided against giving a noise of approval in case it sounded like a moan. He had been right in assuming Gan Ning would be cold, since the pirate's skin felt cool against his face. The brunet shifted downwards so that he could press his forehead against the other's chest, revelling in the loss of warmth from his slightly less red face. He could tell Gan Ning appreciated it, too, by the way he brought his arms together around the brunet's head, gently intertwining his fingers in the soft hair. Ling Tong finally realized it was still in a ponytail, albeit quite messy at that point, and reached a hand up to untie it, but Gan Ning had already done that for him.

"Uh, thanks," he offered, blushing slightly again. The pirate gave an acknowledging grunt and started subtly playing with Ling Tong's hair until he fell asleep, which didn't take very long at all. Ling Tong sighed, hoping he would join his friend in dreaming sooner than later.


	6. Erratum

Waking up to each other had been awkward, and unfortunately for Ling Tong, the pirate had remembered their night together. Ling Tong mentally cursed his luck as Lu Meng approached him shortly after he parted ways with Gan Ning, hoping he wouldn't ask about the two of them.

"What were you and Gan Ning doing last night for him to have left your room this morning? You weren't up all night arguing, were you?"

"Actually, we just slept together," he answered quite casually, causing Lu Meng's eyes to widen and his mouth to hang agape slightly. "Uh, not like that! We just... spent the night together. No, that sounds bad, too..."

"Whatever the case, your... personal life is none of my business, I suppose. I just wanted to make sure you two weren't robbing each other of sleep," he assured, "but I suppose it's fine as long as you're getting along."

"No, we didn't do anything like that, I swear!" Ling Tong began to panic.

"Calm down, Ling Tong, I believe you," though it sounded like a lie to the brunet's ears, "but anyway, did he ever apologize to you?"

"Yes, actually. He said you told him to," Ling Tong answered, his tone slightly accusing.

"I can't even order that damn pirate to clean up a spilled drink, do you really think he apologized just because I told him to?" Ling Tong flinched at his tone, suddenly avoiding eye contact.

"Well, he had also been drinking. I could smell the alcohol on his breath..." Lu Meng nodded.

"I figured that would help get it out of him, but that amount of alcohol wouldn't force a pirate to say what he didn't mean, I'd like to believe." Lu Meng then pointed at a young man dressed in bright red across the hall, gesturing him to come over.

"Who's that? A new recruit?" Ling Tong asked as the boy walked closer.

"Yes. Lu Xun, this is Ling Tong." Lu Meng gestured between the two. Lu Xun saluted, bowing his head.

"It's nice to meet you, master Ling Tong," the boy said, catching him slightly off guard with his formal tone which contradicted the smile that just screamed he knew something Ling Tong didn't.

"Uh, yeah. The feeling's mutual," he offered, not sure if it was a lie or not.

"Lu Xun here is training to be a strategist for Wu," Lu Meng chimed, "he has great potential, and I know he'll be quite valuable to us."

"You flatter me, my lord." Ling Tong was thankful the other officers' eyes were on each other, because he caught himself staring at the new recruit before he heard bells behind him.

"What, you're still here?" he asked, catching their senior's attention.

"Ah, excellent timing," Lu Meng said, introducing the pirate to Lu Xun. Gan Ning barely acknowledged him, too busy giving Ling Tong a strange look. Assuming the two wanted to talk, Lu Xun spoke up.

"This has been pleasant, but I'd like to meet the rest of the officers of Wu today, if that's alright. There are a lot of people to meet, so every moment counts, lord Lu Meng..."

"Ah, you're absolutely right. Well then, we'll be going," he said, pausing to give the duo a glance before walking off with Lu Xun. Ling Tong enjoyed a small moment of silence as he stepped away from the pirate and stretched his arms.

"Why were you eyeing the kid up like that? He seems a little young," the blond accused. Ling Tong waited to answer until he was finished stretching, letting his arms swing to his sides before he crossed them.

"I wasn't 'eyeing him up'. He's not even my type." Ling Tong immediately knew he would regret his word choice.

"So what is your type, then?" the pirate asked, as expected. Ling Tong sighed.

"I know you're gonna take it the wrong way," he said, turning away for an unfortunately dry sneeze. Having to wash his hand would have been a great excuse to end the conversation and leave.

"No I won't, just tell me," Gan Ning insisted, "unless you just don't wanna admit he really is your type."

"Fine. I prefer... lighter hair," he admitted, "and more body mass."

"What, so I'm your type?"

"See, this is what I meant. I knew you would take it the wrong way," the brunet said, desperately thinking of anything he could use to change the topic.

"How is it the 'wrong way'? I'm just your type, is all," the blond smirked as Ling Tong rolled his eyes.

"Why don't we go get breakfast?" he asked, thankful the thought came to him so quickly.

"Hey, don't change the subject-"

"I'm really hungry, alright? I was actually going to get a snack last night before you interrupted me." Ling Tong actually wasn't lying about that, and he was surprised his hunger took so long to hit him.

"Speaking of last night..." he began, but Ling Tong was very eager to cut him off again.

"Last night... pretend it never happened, alright? I think it'd be better for both of us if we just forgot the whole thing." Gan Ning gave the brunet a serious look and clicked his tongue barely audibly, but didn't press the matter any further.

"Fine, let's go," he said, tattooed shoulder just barely failing to brush against Ling Tong's as he passed by. Ling Tong sighed again, jogging to catch up to the pirate. He wondered if he really should talk to Gan Ning about what had happened, but wasn't sure how to bring it up after insisting they both forget about it.

'I wish I could just make up my damn mind,' he thought, scratching the back of his head as he walked beside Gan Ning, 'he's probably thinking the same thing...'


	7. Denique

Ling Tong ate breakfast with Gan Ning, surprising himself yet again at how well they were getting along, but then barely had any contact with him until the night of the rescheduled party. He looked at himself in the mirror next to his bed, admiring the lack of bandages and bruises. He thought for sure he'd end up with a scar or two, but fortunately he was even less damaged than he had thought. The brunet briefly wondered if he should dress up any more formally than usual, but decided against it. It was a night for him to relax and finally get to drink again, after all. Hearing a knock on his door, Ling Tong looked over as it opened.

"You're supposed to wait before opening it, you know," he complained, "otherwise it kind of defeats the purpose of knocking."

"Whatever, you ready to get drunk tonight?" Ling Tong smiled to match the blond's.

"I've never been more ready in my life."

* * *

As the guest of honor arrived, Sun Quan made sure Ling Tong was situated and comfortable before proposing a toast, causing the brunet to blush just slightly at all the attention, as well as the alcohol he'd finally gotten to drink. He barely paid attention until Lu Meng raised his glass to Ling Tong as he spoke.

"I'm sure this is bringing your mood up, eh? Here's hoping you never get injured like that again," he said, clinking his glass against Ling Tong's as the latter laughed. Lu Meng spotted Lu Xun in the corner of the room and went to accompany him, leaving Ling Tong relatively alone again. Deciding he didn't feel like waiting until Gan Ning approached him, he found the pirate himself, dragging him back to his seat so they didn't have to stand and talk.

"Man, it's been a while since we've had a party like this," the blond nearly yelled, having to raise his voice over the sounds of clinking glasses and people talking, "it's almost even better because it's been so long."

"Yeah, wine's never tasted better... but I'm never willingly waiting two whole weeks to drink again," he chuckled, suddenly finding the pirate's eyes very intriguing. Gan Ning stared back, looking as if he was about to say something, but staying silent for a good while. Ling Tong leaned closer slightly, and he saw Gan Ning do the same, tilting his head as Ling Tong opened his mouth to speak.

"Gongji! Are you enjoying yourself?" Sun Quan interrupted. Ling Tong realized what he was doing and quickly backed off, almost thankful that Sun Quan had spoken up.

"Uh, yeah. The wine's really delicious tonight," he repeated, noticing the annoyed look the pirate had turned away to hide.

"You two weren't arguing again, were you?"

"Nah, we've actually been pretty good lately. We're getting along fine," the pirate assured, the sour look on his face gone. Ling Tong ended up staring again as the two exchanged a few more words and Sun Quan walked off. Gan Ning met Ling Tong's gaze, boldly leaning in and kissing him, despite the fact that anyone could see. The brunet simply hoped nobody would look over as he wrapped his arms around the pirate's neck and deepened the kiss, giving a small moan.

"Look how eager you are," the blond teased, leaning away so Ling Tong couldn't kiss him again.

"Let's go back to my room."

"What, already? We just got here..." Gan Ning looked around before Ling Tong grabbed his face and forced the pirate to look at him.

"Now," he whispered, suppressing a smile when Gan Ning stood up and speed walked out of the large room with Ling Tong in tow. He had planned to go to Ling Tong's room like the brunet had wanted, but he realized his own was closer, quickly retreating inside as he got to the door. The pirate hurriedly closed it and pushed Ling Tong against it, pulling his ponytail out and his scarf off as he caught the brunet in another kiss.

"No," he whined, "take me to the bed."

Gan Ning happily complied, removing himself from the brunet and watching him undress as he walked to the bed, fully naked aside from his necklace by the time he sat down.

"You're so eager," Gan Ning said, brows raised in pleasant surprise. Ling Tong stopped him in front of the bed and tugged his waistband down, gently running his teeth along the side of the length he found. Gan Ning flinched slightly.

"Hey, no biting, alright?" At that, Ling Tong leaned in closer and nipped at the pirate's inner thigh, smiling up at him as he was pushed down into a laying position. The brunet moaned rather loudly as he was stroked, kissing Gan Ning in some attempt to muffle himself. Suddenly looking worried, Gan Ning pulled back.

"Hey, are you sure you won't regret this? I mean..." Ling Tong cut him off with another kiss, but the pirate pushed him back, "no, I mean it. Maybe we shouldn't do this while we're drunk."

"Gan Ning... but we're already naked," he noted.

"Well, you are," the pirate said, sighing and completely failing to give Ling Tong an angry look as the brunet pushed the other's pants off with his legs and smiled.

"Both of us," he said, leaning his head back as an invitation. Gan Ning found it too tempting to argue with, quickly moving in to place kisses and nibbles all around his necklace, where he knew his scarf and shirt didn't cover. Feeling merciful, he moved up to where he was pretty sure the scarf went to leave a hickey, earning another small moan.

"Please take me already," he begged, the blush on his cheeks not seeming to disappear despite the fact that blood was rushing elsewhere.

"You've gotta wait, baby," he said, thankful they ended up in the pirate's room, since he wasn't sure if Ling Tong had any sort of lubrication lying around. The brunet hummed in disapproval, giving an exaggerated groan as Gan Ning pulled away to rummage through a drawer. The blond quickly coated his fingers with the contents of the bottle he found, almost spilling some on the floor in his rush.

"Now?"

"You've still gotta wait, unless you want it to hurt-"

"But I've BEEN waiting," Ling Tong interrupted, "I've been trying to figure out how I feel for so long... We could have been doing this for so long..."

"So you wanted this before?" he asked, pausing for just a moment in his stretching of Ling Tong, making the man whimper before he answered.

"I realized I wanted it a while ago... I kept thinking about it, and I realized I didn't mind at all." His drunken blush was definitely lighter now, and Gan Ning smiled slightly as he took another kiss, removing his fingers and gently pushing into Ling Tong as he did so. He enjoyed the quiet moan in his mouth, the way those slim legs closed around his waist, and the way his fingers idly traced the pirate's tattooes, stopping in their tracks to slowly run down his arms and back up to his shoulders. Everything Ling Tong did felt like heaven, and the brunet felt similarly.

"Please," he whimpered against the pirate's lips, sounding desperate but significantly more sober, "please move. Please..."

Gan Ning complied, earning a long groan which he greedily swallowed as he started up a fast pace almost instantly. Ling Tong ran his hands all across the pirate's back, not knowing what to do with himself as he lied there uselessly and continued moaning with increasing volume. Eventually, he thought to touch himself, but Gan Ning had beat him to it. The contact may have been how he thought of it, he wasn't sure, but he appreciated it nonetheless, practically yelling the pirate's style in between kisses.

"Oh, Gongji," he groaned into the brunet's mouth, bringing him over the edge and having to muffle his scream so they wouldn't get caught, although, it was probably too late for that. Gan Ning's volume almost matched the brunet's as he followed him into bliss, pulling out at the last moment to coat his inner thighs and stomach. Ling Tong slowly brought his legs together as close as he could with Gan Ning still between them, his head still thrown back as he caught his breath. Gan Ning lied beside the exhausted brunet, kissing his temple and covering both of them with a blanket. It was a good thing he did, too.

"What are you two yelling about?!" Lu Meng demanded as he threw the door open, making the duo flinch. He gasped, looking completely stupefied as Ling Tong sunk further under the covers, trying desperately to hide himself, though he knew it was too late.

"Nevermind," Lu Meng mumbled as he quickly closed the door, apparently in a hurry to leave the scene. Gan Ning couldn't help but laugh, and Ling Tong gave him a tired punch.

"What are we going to do if rumors start spreading?" he asked, turning to face the blond. Gan Ning only wrapped his arms around Ling Tong's waist, kissing every spot on his face he could reach.

"We'll just prove it right, then," he said, planting one particularly long kiss on Ling Tong's cheek, causing him to instinctively smile.

"Fine," he conceded, "but if we get in trouble somehow, it's your fault."

"Yeah, yeah. We won't get in trouble," he assured, getting comfortable beside the brunet, "if anyone has a problem with it, I'll kill 'em."

"And what if it's our lord?" Ling Tong asked, raising a brow. Gan Ning gave a tired shrug.

"I'll figure something out," he promised, his breathing evening out before Ling Tong could ask him any more questions. The brunet sighed, repositioning them so he could lay on his back with Gan Ning's head resting on his chest. He could swear he felt the pirate smile before he, too, fell asleep.


	8. Antemeridies

"Hey, baby," Ling Tong heard whispered as he slowly opened his eyes, finding their positions had been switched and his head was resting on the pirate's chest.

"Don't call me that," he mumbled, hoping Gan Ning wouldn't say anything like "that's not what you said last night." Thankfully, he just shrugged.

"I'm kinda surprised you're not mad or anything," he said, and Ling Tong finally realized the blond was playing with his hair again. He couldn't say he minded.

"Why would I be angry? I made the decision to sleep with you..." Ling Tong trailed off for a moment, "but I can't say I don't feel a little conflicted."

"Well, conflicted or not, as long as you keep wanting to kiss instead of kill me, I don't have a problem." They lied in a comfortable silence and Ling Tong almost fell back asleep, but Gan Ning spoke up again.

"You know, that was the worst mistake I ever made," he whispered, "and I've accidentally thrown liquor into the ocean before."

Ling Tong got up on one elbow, shocked, "What, sleeping with me?!"

"No," the blond immediately assured, "no, no, god no. That's the best thing that ever happened to me. I was talking about... you know."

"My father..?" Gan Ning nodded, pulling Ling Tong back onto him. The brunet didn't resist.

"I wish I hadn't done that. I wish I found you before him. You're the main reason I even joined Wu, you know." Ling Tong swore he could feel his eyes watering, but he wasn't in any mood to cry.

"You already apologized... and you saved my life," Ling Tong reminded, "plus, it's not like you've ever really hurt me in any way besides that, I guess."

"So, you forgive me?" Gan Ning asked, hopeful. Ling Tong considered it for a moment, looking up into the blond's eyes.

"I don't know," he sighed, "I need more time to think about it."

Gan Ning sighed, too, humming in acknowledgement. The silence between them was slightly less comfortable than before, but still tolerable. Gan Ning wrapped his arms around the brunet, breaking the silence again.

"I love you," he murmured, pulling Ling Tong up to kiss him easier. Gan Ning hesitated at the brunet's lips, deciding to move over onto his cheek before Ling Tong raised a hand, keeping the pirate's face in place as he pressed their lips together.

"I still don't know how I feel," he admitted, "but I don't think I hate you anymore."

"Good," the blond replied, "but you haven't forgotten about those free drinks, right?"

Ling Tong sighed in annoyance.

"I was hoping you would, actually..."

"No way! How about we go out tonight?" the pirate asked, suddenly excited. Ling Tong had trouble understanding how he could already be so energetic.

"I kind of have a headache... plus-"

"Your headache will be gone by the time we go," he interrupted.

"Yeah, but I was going to train today, since I'm finally healed." Ling Tong did slightly dread the idea of training after so long, but he knew it was important. Gan Ning kept his excited expression.

"We'll go after that," he said, "I'll even help you train."

Ling Tong rested his cheek against the blond's chest again with an exasperated sigh and a groan.

"This feels so nice," he paused to stretch, "just laying here like this."

"Makes sense you'd like it, lazy," Gan Ning drummed his fingers on the brunet's back, "but don't you feel a little messy?"

"Ugh, don't remind me," he groaned, wishing he had thought to clean up before passing out. Gan Ning just beamed at him, chuckling slightly.

"Wanna get messier?" Ling Tong instinctively brought his legs closer to himself at the question, but his answer was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Get up, you two," Lu Meng spoke, slightly muffled and understandably hesitant about opening the door, "lord Sun Quan is holding a meeting in about half an hour to discuss our next move."

"Alright, we'll be there," Gan Ning said, raising his voice slightly to be heard through the wall. As Lu Meng's footsteps got further from the door, Ling Tong reluctantly spit on his hand, using the moisture to rub the previous night's mess off of his stomach.

"So, how about it?" the pirate asked.

"How about what? He just said we only have half an hour."

"We could make it quick... maybe around 15 minutes?" Ling Tong rolled his eyes and began to search for his clothes.

"I'm not risking being late, and I'm definitely not explaining WHY I was late," he said, wincing slightly as he stood up. The blond clicked his tongue.

"Right after, then?"

"No, after the meeting I'm going to have breakfast, bathe, and then start training," he stated, pausing as he finished pulling his pants on, "but... maybe tonight."

Gan Ning grinned at him, apparently content with the brunet's answer, and got up to get himself dressed as well. Ling Tong stood in front of Gan Ning's mirror, feeling strange when he looked into it and didn't see his own room in the reflection. He ignored the feeling and made sure he looked presentable, pulling his hair back into the ponytail it was used to. Gan Ning approached him from behind just as the brunet was glaring at a hickey the pirate had left.

"What's the matter? Your scarf covers that, right?" he asked, kissing the back of Ling Tong's neck.

"Just barely," he sighed, wrapping the aforementioned article of clothing around his neck, fussing with it until he was satisfied.

"Ready?" Ling Tong nodded, removing Gan Ning's arms from around himself and walking towards the door, making sure the blond followed him outside. He stretched again as he stepped out the door, feeling Gan Ning's eyes all over him as he slowly walked forward, increasing his pace once his arms were at his sides again. Gan Ning had fallen behind slightly from being distracted, jogging to catch up to Ling Tong and settling for walking by his side as opposed to behind him, unless he wanted to get distracted again.


	9. Destitutione

Ling Tong had caught Gan Ning staring at him several times during both the meeting and breakfast, less unsettled than he was simply worried that the pirate hadn't been paying attention. As soon as they finished their meals, Ling Tong walked back to his room to collect clothes for when he got out of the bath, but Gan Ning had followed him like a lost puppy the whole time, grabbing the brunet's arm on his way to the bathroom.

"Think I could take a bath with you?" Ling Tong sighed, not knowing how he didn't expect that.

"No, Gan Ning," he said, practically hearing the blond's hopes being crushed. Ling Tong found it amusing. Gan Ning then brought the brunet close to him, breath warm against his ear.

"One quick round before you go, then?" he murmured, slowly untying Ling Tong's scarf to give his neck a gentle kiss.

"You'll have to wait until tonight," he said, voice unconvincing even in his own ears. Gan Ning simply stared at Ling Tong as neither of them attempted to move, until the latter muttered an "alright, fine" and quickly pulled the blond into his room. Gan Ning excitedly undressed the brunet, raising a brow and tilting his head when Ling Tong didn't move towards the bed. He simply leaned against the wall instead, blushing slightly as he refused to vocalize what he wanted.

"What's the matter, wanna get slammed against the wall?" Ling Tong nearly gasped, quickly pressing his lips to the pirate's to shut him up. Gan Ning smiled into the kiss, only pulling away to look around the room, realizing it wasn't his own.

"What?" Ling Tong asked, annoyed at the loss of contact. "Why are you deciding to explore now of all times?"

"I'm not exploring, I'm looking for something," the blond answered, going through the drawers on Ling Tong's bedside table. The brunet's blush returned as he briskly walked over to the desk in the corner of his room, pulling out a bottle similar to the one Gan Ning kept.

"So you did have some," Gan Ning noted, "but why do you keep it way over there?"

"It's none of your business."

"What do you mean, 'none of my business'? I'm the one sleeping with you!" Ling Tong refused to answer, simply handing Gan Ning the bottle and leaning against the closest wall, looking unintentionally vulnerable. The pirate's anger died down immediately as he gently maneuvered Ling Tong into a position where he was completely off the ground, held to the wall only by the other man's body. The brunet quickly felt himself getting hard at the situation, burying his face in Gan Ning's neck as he was hurriedly stretched by slick fingers.

"D-do it like last time," the brunet begged, impatient as Gan Ning pushed into him. The pirate smirked, quickly easing into a pace they could both enjoy.

"Like it rough, huh?" he whispered, only receiving an unsteady moan and short nails raking over his shoulders in response. Ling Tong could feel his hair being messed up, assuming it wasn't a pretty sight, but Gan Ning seemed to like it plenty, groaning and cursing into Ling Tong's ear as the pirate looked him over. Gan Ning increased the pace even more until they both came, muffling their noises in each other's mouths. Ling Tong grimaced as he caught his breath.

"You could have pulled out..." he complained, feeling slightly uncomfortable as the blond gingerly set him on the floor, apparently mesmerized by Ling Tong's attempt to clean himself up.

"Now can I bathe with you?" he asked, and Ling Tong gave him an incredulous look. "We're both dirty..."

"We're not doing this again," he said, "not until tonight, at least."

"So what, you're still looking forward to tonight?"

"I'm at the very least looking forward to the alcohol..." Ling Tong couldn't help but smile at the thought as he stood and got dressed again, quickly fixing his hair as well. Gan Ning matched his smile as he did the same, though it dropped as he thought of something.

"Shouldn't you take the bath after training? You know, since you'll get all sweaty," he suggested. Ling Tong dropped the extra clothes he had been holding and gave an annoyed sigh as he realized the pirate was right. He really didn't feel like taking two baths in the same day, either...

"Fine, let's go to the training grounds, then," the brunet mumbled, eager to get their training session over with so he could finally clean up. Gan Ning laughed and followed him out the door, bumping into Ling Tong almost immediately.

"What's wrong?" Ling Tong ignored him, looking confused for a moment before he started walking again, mumbling that it was nothing. He could have sworn he heard a certain pirate's bells, but Gan Ning was right there with him. He simply assumed they were stuck in his head as they often were, shrugging it off as Gan Ning tried to insist he tell him what was wrong all the way to the training grounds


	10. Oblitus

Ling Tong awoke to an incredibly annoying light flooding in through the window in his room. He shielded his eyes with a hand he had to dislodge out from under Gan Ning, who he took a moment to realize was there. Ling Tong's head pounded and he felt nauseated as he attempted to remember the previous night.

'Let's see... I trained with Gan Ning... he cut it short because I was out of breath already... we took a bath... then what?' Ling Tong had a vague recollection of looking forward to last night. 'Oh... Gan Ning took me out drinking.'

As if the pirate heard his name in the brunet's thoughts, he stirred, taking a deep breath as he stretched before rolling over to embrace Ling Tong. He felt even worse at the pressure on his stomach, moving the blond's arm several times as he tried to find a way to be comfortably held, eventually waking him up.

"'s a matter? Never seen an arm before?" he lazily joked, nuzzling his face into the brunet's shoulder. Ling Tong slowly sat up, quickly covering his mouth as he gagged.

"Did I eat last night?" he struggled to ask, thankful the bathroom was so close to his room in case he needed it. Gan Ning sat up as well, gently rubbing Ling Tong's bare back.

"I don't think so," he said, holding the brunet by his hips so he didn't upset his stomach further, "why, got a hangover?"

"A really bad one," Ling Tong whined, laying down again as soon as he was sure he wasn't going to throw up. He shivered as he realized how cold it was that morning, rubbing his legs against the blanket as he pulled it up to his chin.

"Are you cold, baby? Don't worry, Xingba will warm you up." Ling Tong didn't comment on the nickname this time, slightly more used to it.

"Xingba's naked, too," he pointed out, snuggling up to the pirate regardless, who just chuckled. Ling Tong suddenly felt discomfort in his side, trailing a hand down to find any traces of injuries and frowning when he found what felt like bite marks.

"Are we getting up or going back to sleep?" Gan Ning asked, mindful of his volume. Ling Tong thought about it for a moment, looking out the window to try and determine what time it was.

"I'll get up," he said, "just let me rest my eyes for a minute."

Before said minute had passed, Ling Tong had already fallen back asleep, forcing a smile onto the pirate. Gan Ning then decided he would be nice and bring his lover something to eat, since the brunet was suffering so much. He got up as quietly as possible, getting dressed and reluctantly abandoning his bells so he didn't wake Ling Tong up.

* * *

"What, you're back already?" Lianshi's voice met him as he made his way into the kitchen. Gan Ning tilted his head, figuring she meant a part of last night he couldn't recall.

"Yeah, could you make something for, uh..." the pirate wasn't sure if Ling Tong would have liked Gan Ning to go around hinting they were in a relationship, despite the fact that at least one person already knew.

"I'm not making anything right now," Lianshi cut in, "I just finished eating. I can ask one of our chefs to make something for you, though."

Gan Ning was grateful he didn't have to finish a sentence that was going nowhere, nodding. He followed Lianshi, clicking his tongue when she raised a hand to his chest to stop him.

"Could you get them to make something easy to swallow?" he asked, thinking of Ling Tong's state. "Like, soup or something?"

"Of course," she said, "also, did you catch that chopstick I threw at you the other day?"

Gan Ning scowled as he remembered it. "No, but you hit me in the back of the head with it. Why?"

"Really? I wasn't even looking," she smiled, "but I just haven't been able to find it since. I suppose we have plenty more, but it seems like a waste."

With that, she continued walking, leaving Gan Ning behind to sit at one of the tables. He heard shuffling feet and looked behind him, finding a very tired Ling Tong, with his hair down and all, scratching his head.

"Why'd you leave without me?" he asked, yawning. Gan Ning gestured to the seat beside him, admiring the way the brunet's shirt was slightly crooked and more open than usual. Ling Tong ignored the offer, taking the seat across from the pirate instead. He snorted at Gan Ning's frown.

"What? This way we can see each other," he noted, rocking the chair as he leaned back on it. Gan Ning shrugged, figuring the brunet had a point.

"Anyway, I left so I could bring you some food. Feel like having soup?" Ling Tong crossed his arms, clearly having trouble keeping his eyes open.

"What kind?" he asked, eyes finally opening fully as he almost fell out of his chair, ceasing his rocking. Gan Ning smirked at the scene, but returned to a more neutral expression as he looked over at the door Lianshi had disappeared through. He quickly brought his gaze back over to Ling Tong, however, as the man opened his shirt completely, mumbling something about his stomach.

"Uh," he thought for a brief moment as he snapped out of the slight stupor he found himself in, "didn't specify."

Ling Tong sighed and shrugged, pulling his shirt closed again as Lu Meng walked into the kitchen.

"I see you brought Ling Tong with you this time," he noted, confusing the duo, "how are you two getting along?"

"Fine," they said in unison. Lu Meng simply nodded and walked to the door to the chef's area, obviously aware of their recent activites. Ling Tong titled his head at Gan Ning.

"What did he mean by 'this time'?" Gan Ning closed his eyes, trying to think of whether or not he even saw Lu Meng last night.

"I don't know," he conceded, "I guess I don't remember all of last night."

"Guess that makes two of us," Ling Tong sighed, raising a brow at the pirate's smile.

"At least I remember the important parts," he whispered, leaning in to brush some hair out of the brunet's face.

"Lucky," Ling Tong mumbled as his headache acted up again. He brought his fingers up to gently rub circles at his temples as Gan Ning happily hummed in agreement. The pirate then looked up to the ceiling as he thought for a moment.

"I hope I didn't raid the kitchen or anything last night," he thought aloud, receiving only a scoff from Ling Tong in response. They sat in boring silence for a short while longer before their food was brought out to them. They expressed their thanks and quietly ate, with Ling Tong trying his best not to make any unnecessary noise for the sake of his head. Gan Ning finished first since he wasn't quite as delicate with his food, settling for watching Ling Tong instead of bringing his bowl to the sink.

"Quit staring at me," he tiredly ordered, picking up his bowl to drink the remainder of the broth. The pirate stayed silent, mesmerized by the movement of the brunet's throat. He stood up and started walking towards the sink with his bowl in hand, pausing to lean down and kiss Ling Tong's neck just once as he finished drinking. Ling Tong quickly placed his bowl on top of Gan Ning's, too lazy to take his own short trip to the sink. The pirate just hummed, trying his best to resist looking back at Ling Tong as he saw the brunet rest his head on the table out of the corner of his eye.

"You gonna actually do anything today?" the blond asked as he walked back. Ling Tong shook his head, immediately regretting it and groaning loudly, despite the fact that it didn't help his migraine in the slightest. Gan Ning grinned, leaning down to whisper in the brunet's ear.

"Why don't you go back to bed, then?" he suggested. Ling Tong carefully stood up, leaning against the pirate.

"Carry me," he whined, pretending his legs gave out. The blond caught him, clicking his tongue.

"Yeah? You want me to carry you through the hall where everyone can see? Fine by me." Ling Tong frowned, pushing away from Gan Ning as the pirate moved to pick him up.

"Actually, I'm suddenly feeling a little better," he lied, earning a laugh. It hurt his head, but Ling Tong grinned, too. He then walked back to his room, finding himself slightly disappointed that Gan Ning had only followed him half of the way there, and crashed onto his bed, hearing the bells Gan Ning had left behind jingle with his carelessness. Ling Tong groaned again, grabbing his head with one hand and the blankets with the other, throwing them over himself as he tried to soothe his headache away, falling asleep again instead.


	11. Metus

Ling Tong slowly opened his eyes, sighing happily when he noticed his headache had died down considerably. He stretched, accidentally jingling the bells that were still at the foot of his bed. He played with them with his feet for a few seconds before smiling and getting up, exiting his room. He saw the pirate turning a corner and the brunet ran to try to catch up to him.

He called the blond's name, clicking his tongue when he was ignored. However, once he turned the corner, all he saw was a few officers he didn't recognize passing through.

"Need something?" the pirate suddenly asked behind him, startling Ling Tong.

"Wh- how..?" Ling Tong shook his head, figuring he must have still been tired. "Nevermind. I was thinking about going to the market today. Wanna come with me?"

"Sorry, I'm a little busy," he answered, rolling his neck. Ling Tong raised a brow.

"Busy with what? Whenever you drink or train, you usually like it to be with me," he pointed out. Gan Ning turned away for a brief moment before sighing.

"Alright, I'll admit it. I was actually... gonna go out and buy you something," he started, reveling in the slightly excited look in the brunet's eyes, "but it has to be a surprise, alright? So I'll hang around here until you come back so we don't run into each other. Until tonight, at least."

"Alright, but I sure hope alcohol is a part of this gift of yours." Gan Ning smiled, giving the brunet a short kiss before walking off. Ling Tong didn't follow him, going his own way out to the market as planned. He had been somewhat looking forward to being outside by himself, which didn't happen often in recent times, but he had found Lu Meng and Lu Xun when he got there.

"Ah, hello master Ling Tong!" the shorter strategist greeted, disregarding the fruit he and his superior had been looking at. Lu Meng turned around as well.

"Oh, hello, Ling Tong." Ling Tong tilted his head at Lu Meng's tone.

"What's wrong? Are you really so disappointed to see me?" Lu Meng shook his head, seemingly trying to shake something off.

"No, it's fine. I'm never disappointed to see you, but..."

"But what?" Ling Tong felt he would normally start getting impatient, but he found himself feeling slightly worried instead.

"Have you seen... actually, nevermind," he said after receiving a firm stare from Lu Xun. Ling Tong finally got annoyed, but minded his manners anyway.

"What's the harm in telling me? Did someone go missing?"

"No, it's worse," Lu Xun said, his tone serious, "three of our officers have been found dead. Two of them were found together about a week ago, and the third one was found today, with..."

The strategist exchanged glances with Lu Meng, who picked the conversation up where Lu Xun had trailed off.

"His body was found with evidence of treason."

"Well, isn't it a good thing he's dead, then?" Lu Meng shook his head.

"Treason on another officer's part," he said, "but we've been told not to share any information until we know for sure."

"Ah... the officers weren't anyone extremely important, were they?" Ling Tong asked, with people like Zhou Tai and Zhou Yu coming to mind.

"Fortunately, they were lower ranking officers. The killer seems to want to trim down our numbers a bit." Ling Tong bit his lip, wanting to ask further into it, but abandoning the topic since they were out in public. He parted ways with the duo, forgetting what he wanted to buy and just enjoying the fresh air for a while.

* * *

After about an hour of walking around, Ling Tong had finally headed back inside, bumping into Lu Meng again, who seemed panicked.

"Ling Tong, I'm so sorry," he started, hesitating to speak further.

"Hey, it's fine," Ling Tong assured, suddenly feeling panic starting to rise in himself as well, "what's wrong?"

"Gan Ning," Lu Meng closed his eyes, unwilling to look at Ling Tong, "has gone missing."

Ling Tong was speechless, feeling his hands starting to shake before he forced himself to calm down.

"But," he argued, "I just saw him earlier today. He was fine... and he said he would be hanging around the castle for-"

"We found his bells in a hall next to splatters of blood," Lu Meng interrupted, sending a shiver up Ling Tong's spine. Lu Meng seemed like he wanted to say something else, perhaps attempt to reassure the trembling brunet, but he stayed quiet, giving his best look of sympathy.

"He... he's fine," he said, mostly to himself, "I refuse to believe that idiot is anything but fine."

Lu Meng gave a solemn nod. Ling Tong felt slightly frustrated that it seemed like his superior was hiding something from him, but figured it was for his own safety. As Lu Meng left, Ling Tong nearly bolted back to his room, fully expecting to see the pirate there for some reason. Maybe he would peek out from under the bed with a mischievous smile, which Ling Tong would immediately slap off of him. Maybe he would be laying in bed, waiting for the brunet...

However, as Ling Tong arrived to his room, he was greeted with silence and loneliness. He sat on his bed, eyes widening as he thought he heard Gan Ning's bells. The brunet moved the blankets, revealing them and jumping as he expected to find them covered in blood. They were clean, however, and didn't look to be recently washed.

"What..?" he whispered, trembling stopping momentarily as he thought.

'How are his bells still here, clean, if Lu Meng said they were found covered in blood?' he thought, eyes narrowing as he tried to consider the possibilities. 'Is this some sick joke? And why did the bastard have to go missing as soon as he sleeps with me? Does he just want to take everything away from me?'

Ling Tong felt his emotions intensifying and tried to calm down as he ran out of his room, bringing the bells with him. He would take them to Sun Quan and see what his lord had to say on the matter, he decided.


	12. Scisco

As Ling Tong finally approached Sun Quan, he stopped to catch his breath, holding the bells out for his lord to take. Sun Quan looked shocked and was about to comment, but a messenger hurried into the room, hastily saluting as he got on one knee.

"Gan Ning was found with another dead officer," Ling Tong felt his breathing speed up, "and he tried to flee west, but we were able to capture him."

Ling Tong felt light headed as he looked over at Sun Quan, who couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with him. Ling Tong wanted to demand an explanation, he wanted to be able to calm down and figure out what was going on, but instead he ran out the door, panicked and unable to think straight. He started to feel sweat on his face, angrily wiping it away as he got outside, looking around and cursing to himself for not asking where Gan Ning was being held. The brunet simply picked a direction and started jogging.

'West... he tried to flee west...' he remembered, 'that wasn't too long ago, right? So he's probably west...'

Ling Tong slowed as he finally found the pirate, tied and gagged and suspiciously on his own. His eyes were closed in what seemed to be annoyance, but they opened when the brunet approached him. Ling Tong felt rage building in him, and it peaked at the look in Gan Ning's eyes.

"What, you're relieved to see me?!" he shouted after taking a brief moment to try to catch his breath slightly. "I can't believe this. I can't believe you! You killed my father, somehow got me to... to forgive you, and now this?! I don't care if they want to interrogate you, I should kill you myself. I SHOULD'VE killed you a long time ago!"

Gan Ning hadn't looked panicked until Ling Tong felt tears streaming down his face, frustratedly rubbing at his eyes with his arm. The pirate frantically shook his head, trying to break free from the ropes, and Ling Tong knelt down to rip the gag away, hoping it hurt the back of the blond's head. He didn't pause to wince, however.

"Don't cry," he begged, "don't cry, baby, please don't cry... I swear I have no idea what you're talking about, but you can torture me or whatever you want, just please don't cry..."

"Don't call me that!" Ling Tong slapped him and the pirate closed his eyes and calmed down, looking at the ground when he opened them again. "If you don't know what's going on, tell me what you DO know."

"I... I'm trying to think, alright?" he said, still unable to make eye contact. He then looked surprised, finally turning to look at Ling Tong. "There was another me!"

"What..? Do you really expect me to believe that?!" Gan Ning shook his head again.

"No, no, I mean it! I found him in a hall and he attacked me before I could ask anything, but I got a few good hits on him, but then..." he trailed off, closing his eyes in concentration again. Ling Tong thought back on everything that had happened recently, and remembered the times he thought he heard Gan Ning's bells, and even earlier that day when he saw him turning a corner but then the pirate ended up behind him. Ling Tong also remembered that the bells he had glanced at upon entering the conference room Sun Quan was in were covered in blood, but Gan Ning, at least this one, appeared to be uninjured.

"Then what?" Ling Tong whispered, having calmed down significantly. He was still confused, and even if there were two of the pirate, this one could be the imposter for all he knew. Gan Ning gave another try at breaking free when another tear found its way down the brunet's face, and Ling Tong almost felt like untying him.

"I don't know, alright? I just woke up here." Gan Ning smiled just slightly as he managed to get an arm loose, quickly cupping Ling Tong's cheek and wiping the liquid away with his thumb. Ling Tong simply watched as the pirate got his other arm free.

"Need help?" he asked, watching Gan Ning struggle slightly with untying his legs. The pirate smiled triumphantly as he finally pulled the rope away from himself.

"Bastard can't even tie a knot like I can," he gloated, quickly embracing Ling Tong. "I'm gonna kill him for whatever he did to make you cry like that."

"He didn't do anything to me, he just... he made you seem like a traitor," he felt Gan Ning's shoulders lower in slight relief and felt the urge to laugh, settling for a small smile instead. "You really care that much about me?"

"Of course I do. You know I do," he murmured, slowly rubbing the brunet's back and rocking him slightly like he had the night he apologized for what he did to Ling Tong. Before Gan Ning could ask what had happened, Lu Xun carefully approached the duo. The pirate instinctively held Ling Tong tighter as the brunet turned his head, subtly tapping Gan Ning in a "get off of me" kind of way.

"Masters Ling Tong and... Gan Ning," he hesitantly addressed, "the problem has been taken care of. Though, not as I would have liked."

"What happened?" they asked in unison, pausing to look at each other. Gan Ning scoffed and Ling Tong looked away, suddenly finding a nearby tree very interesting. Lu Xun smiled for a brief moment before he continued.

"We had... another Gan Ning, I suppose, restrained. However, as soon as I looked away, he disappeared. The guards panicked and left to find him, but I noticed there seemed to be more rope than before. As I approached the pile, some of it seemed to move on its own and I saw what appeared to be a chopstick rolling away. I picked it up and..." Lu Xun looked away and sighed, "promptly snapped it in half, without thinking."

Ling Tong was relieved as he finally made eye contact with Lu Xun, thanks to Gan Ning's grip on him lessening. Gan Ning himself wasn't as relieved.

"Get any information out of him?" he asked, to which Lu Xun shook his head.

"No, he wouldn't make a sound. We can only hope more... shapeshifting creatures like that don't exist," he said, holding the broken halves of the chopstick up. "I figured we could have a research team examine this."

"Good idea," Ling Tong chimed before whispering to Gan Ning to let him go. The pirate clicked his tongue and released him as they both stood up. Lu Xun nodded.

"I'd like to ask you two to be on guard from now on," he suggested, "we'll all be."

With that, they walked back to the castle, with Lu Xun pausing to hand the broken chopstick off to Lu Meng. Gan Ning received a few suspicious looks and had to explain himself more than once, to which the officers responded with confusion, leaving to ask a superior for validation.

"We're incredibly lucky this was resolved so quickly," Sun Quan said, with Lianshi looking thoughtful behind him. Ling Tong and Gan Ning both nodded as Lianshi spoke up.

"I suppose it's not relevant now, unless there are more of those things, but I have a theory," she offered, not bothering to wait for a response to continue, "I believe that creature had already infiltrated us around two weeks ago."

"Really? How do you know?" Sun Quan asked, feeling slightly proud of Lianshi for figuring it out even before she gave any evidence.

"Well, the messenger said its final form was a chopstick. Two weeks ago, I had thrown a chopstick at Gan Ning, and couldn't find it afterwards. Just earlier today, however, I counted our stock and noticed we still had an even number," she said, "and this raises yet another theory. Why would the creature decide to turn into Gan Ning of all people and not someone who wasn't as well known?"

The three men looked at each other and Sun Quan urged Lianshi on as he concluded none of them had an answer.

"I believe it can only transform into things it has touched." Ling Tong nodded at that.

"That would make sense," he agreed, "Lu Xun said the creature turned into some rope after it was restrained."

"Even more evidence," Sun Quan said, "thank you for your contribution, Lianshi. That's very important information to consider, especially if more really do exist. For now, I'll just have everyone report on anything strange they may have seen every morning... no, afternoon. Even the smallest things."

"But if people get too paranoid, they might start hallucinating or something," Gan Ning commented, earning him a jab in the side by Ling Tong's elbow.

"This is the only thing we can do," he whispered, and Gan Ning kept quiet, crossing his arms. Sun Quan then dismissed them, and as soon as the two were out of the room, Gan Ning gently hugged Ling Tong from behind, kissing a spot under his ear that he had learned would make the brunet shiver.

"Wanna celebrate our little victory today?" Ling Tong sighed and relaxed in the pirate's arms, leaning back against him.

"Celebrate with what? Alcohol or sex?"

"I was thinking both," Gan Ning murmured as he smiled, giving a disappointed hum as Ling Tong pulled away.

"Fine, but let me eat this time so I can actually remember it," he said, waiting for the blond to take the lead before he followed, noticing they were on their way back to Ling Tong's room. It was becoming clear which treat the pirate favored more, he thought to himself.


	13. Pinna

"Will you rub my back?" Ling Tong murmured, moving over onto Gan Ning and resting his head on the pirate's chest. Gan Ning pulled him up to kiss the brunet's head before complying.

"Tired?" he asked, receiving a slight nod. "You're so cute when you're just laying there all calm."

"Is that why you like having me face you when we sleep together? I thought you'd prefer to take me from behind," Ling Tong commented, enjoying the vibrations against his cheek from the pirate's chuckle.

"What, are you saying you wanna try some new positions?" Ling Tong raised a tired hand to scratch the back of his head.

"We're done talking about this," he said, pausing a bit before adding, "for now."

Gan Ning smiled and moved Ling Tong's hair out of his face, trying multiple times to keep it behind his ear, but failing as it kept falling back into place. Ling Tong made a noise almost like a giggle at the pirate's sigh of frustration.

"Hey," he said, suddenly remembering the events that took place earlier that day, "you ever gonna apologize for hitting me before?"

Ling Tong gave a sleepy "mm mm" as he shook his head the best he could without raising it, but it just looked like he was nuzzling the blond.

"What? Come on, I didn't do anything!" he argued, holding Ling Tong closer to signify that he wasn't really mad. The brunet finally opened his eyes, lifting his head to look at Gan Ning.

"Yes you did. You killed my father," he reminded, making the pirate shift his eyes away and sigh, letting his shoulders sag as he tried one last time to pin Ling Tong's hair behind his ear, finally succeeding. The brunet grinned and shook it loose, returning to his previous position.

"So now we're even," he said, catching the pirate off guard, "now I can finally forgive you."

"W-what, really? You're not being sarcastic or anything?" Gan Ning asked, excited. Ling Tong nuzzled the pirate's chest again, giving an annoyed grunt as he was pushed off with an equally excited "Oh!"

"What?" he asked, wrapping his arms around Gan Ning, who had sat up. "Don't leave... I need my Xingba to keep me warm."

"Don't worry, baby, I'll be right back," he beamed, quickly pulling his pants on, "and I'll bring some booze, too."

Ling Tong smiled at that, satisfied with the pirate's answer as he stretched and nestled himself into the blankets, which tried their best to act as a replacement for the pirate's warmth. He dozed off for a short bit, confused when Gan Ning opened the door again in what seemed like a few seconds to him. The brunet took a moment to orient himself as Gan Ning sat down beside him after setting the alcohol he had retrieved on the nightstand.

"I also, uh," he hesitated, suddenly shy, "I didn't get to go out and buy you something like I said, so I figured I'd just give you this."

The blond held out a feather and Ling Tong gently lifted it, looking at it curiously.

"What is this?" he asked, hoping the blond would know he meant to ask for the significance of it and that he could see just fine that it was a feather.

"It's a feather." Ling Tong sighed.

"I meant, why are you giving it to me?"

"I don't know... it always meant a lot to me. My, uh," he hesitated again, "friend gave it to me when I was a kid."

"Friend, huh?" Ling Tong said more than asked, amused. "It was a long time ago, you know. I won't get mad if you say you were in a relationship."

"Relationship?" Gan Ning tilted his head as he thought for a second. "No, no, I was just trying to be, you know, sensitive."

"Can you just say what you mean?" Gan Ning snorted.

"That's rich, coming from you," he said, leaning back to stare at the ceiling. "My dad gave it to me."

Gan Ning very slowly brought his eyes back down to the brunet, finding a small grin on him.

"You don't have to pretend you didn't have parents for me," he informed, resisting the urge to rest his head on the blond's tattooed shoulder "but more importantly, what am I gonna do with this?"

"Wear it in your ponytail or something."

"And what if I lose it on the battlefield?" Gan Ning cringed at the idea, causing Ling Tong to laugh.

"Well... keep it near your bed, at least," he offered, "I want you to see it and think of me if you outlive me."

Ling Tong shook his head. "You went and got me all attached to you, I better not outlive you."

"Well, I'm not letting you die before me," he retorted, "especially not after I went through the trouble of saving your ass."

"'Went through the trouble'? It's not like I asked you to save me." Ling Tong resented that he sounded annoyed when he was just trying to kid around. Gan Ning sighed, laying down again and patting his chest for the brunet to join him.

"Yeah, well, I probably would've saved you even if you screamed at me not to," he muttered, voice straining slightly as he leaned over to grab a bottle of liquor. Ling Tong took one for himself as well, setting down the feather in exchange for it before he decided to place it in the topmost drawer so it didn't end up blowing out the window or something. Once he was in a nice, calm little buzz, Gan Ning shook the brunet's shoulder to make sure he was awake.

"You wanted to eat, right? We should go do that now before you're too tired. I'll even make you something." Ling Tong immediately shook his head.

"I definitely don't trust your cooking, Gan Ning."

"Come on, call me Xingba more often," he begged, ignoring the insult.

"Alright, but only in private." Gan Ning looked slightly worried at that and Ling Tong raised a brow as he finally got up to get dressed.

"You, uh... didn't wanna keep our relationship a secret or anything, did you?" he asked somewhat timidly. Ling Tong's mouth hung open momentarily.

"Well, kind of, yeah! What, did you go around telling people about us?" Gan Ning leaned forward and gave Ling Tong a quick kiss in some attempt to calm him down.

"No, not yet, at least. It's just that, you know the old man walked in on us before... and I guess Lu Xun must've heard us just a little while ago, too."

"What, him, too? How do you know?"

"Well, maybe not, but he gave me a funny look when I passed him in the hall on the way to my room," he said, planting a kiss on Ling Tong's cheek.

"Alright, alright, enough with the kisses. Let's go eat," he sighed, dragging the blond out of the room with him. Gan Ning coughed as Lianshi gave him a knowing smile once the two were in the hall.

"Uh, Ling Tong-"

"I get it, everyone knows we slept together, I don't care anymore," he interrupted, "and besides, shouldn't you be calling me Gongji?"

Gan Ning gave an excited nod, pulling Ling Tong into a hug and getting ahead of him on their way to the kitchen. The brunet sighed, wishing he had brought the last bottle of alcohol the pirate had placed on his nightstand. He was sure that when he was sober, he'd regret saying he didn't care if people knew about their relationship, but he supposed it wasn't a secret meant to be kept.


	14. Curo

"Hey," Gan Ning said, moving Ling Tong's attention away from his last bite of food and up to the pirate's face, "what if we befriended one of those shapeshifting things?"

"I guess that would be ideal... if there even are any more," Ling Tong said, finishing his food and placing his empty plate on top of Gan Ning's, fully expecting the blond to take the trip to the sink for him. Gan Ning ignored it, however.

"It'd be great to have two of you running around," he said with some sort of dreamy look in his eyes, "would you kiss another you for me?"

"Probably not, pervert." Ling Tong rolled his eyes at the dejected look on Gan Ning's face. "Besides, wouldn't you rather kiss me?"

"Yeah, but I could kiss you somewhere else while he-"

"So, you wouldn't happen to have any more booze lying around, would you?" Ling Tong interrupted as he stood up and took their plates to the sink.

"What, don't wanna hear it?" Gan Ning laughed. "I've still got some left in my stash. Let's go back to my room."

"There's still a bottle in mine, I think..." Ling Tong tried to recall if the bottle he saw on his nightstand was empty or not.

"Well, I've got more than one, so my room it is," the pirate reasoned, leading Ling Tong out into the hallway. Once they arrived at their destination, the brunet felt himself being undressed.

"What, already? I'm not in the mood," he said, but made no attempt to stop the blond.

"What's the point in wearing clothes when we're alone?" he asked, removing Ling Tong's shirt but leaving his pants on. Gan Ning walked over to his closet and rummaged through some piles of clothes, blankets, and things that jingled, probably extra bells. The brunet happened to look down as he approached the bed, finding a small chest under it. He backed up and knelt down, reaching under the bed for it and having to lean forward as it was further than it appeared.

"Nice view," the pirate commented, placing the bottles beside him.

"Oh, shut up," Ling Tong retorted, finally dragging the surprisingly heavy chest out from under the bed. He fiddled with the lock for a moment before he got it open, admiring the stereotypical view of a pirate's treasure. It was exactly what he expected, but the glimmer of gold coins and expensive jewelry entranced him regardless. Gan Ning placed kisses on the back of the brunet's neck, slowly moving down his spine.

"What are you gonna do with this?" Ling Tong asked. "Just keep it forever?"

"Well, not forever, probably." Gan Ning raised his head to rest it on Ling Tong's shoulder. "Why? Did you want some?"

The pirate picked up a handful of coins, catching the thin chain of a gold necklace as well, and let them slowly fall back into the chest. Ling Tong remained hypnotized for just a moment longer, shaking his head as he snapped out of it and closed the chest, reluctantly pushing it back where he found it.

"It's not going anywhere, you know. And neither are you," the pirate whispered, sending shivers down Ling Tong's spine, just as he had intended.

"What, are you planning to lock me in here? I don't think you have a chest I could fit in," Ling Tong said, grabbing a bottle and pulling the cork out.

"I'll just squeeze you into that one," Gan Ning joked, pointing to the chest they had just been looking at, "I'm sure I can get you to fit."

"Or you could make a little nest for me that's so comfortable I won't want to leave," Ling Tong suggested, heavily considering getting on the bed instead of just leaning on the side as he moved slightly so he was sitting on the floor instead of kneeling.

"Alright, give me a minute," the pirate shrugged, standing up. He walked over to his closet again, pulling out an extra blanket and two pillows before messing around with them on the bed, where Ling Tong couldn't see unless he were to stand up. The brunet settled for taking a long drink of alcohol instead.

"Done!" Ling Tong reluctantly stood up, climbing into bed and contentedly sighing. Gan Ning chuckled, getting into bed next to the brunet.

"Good enough?" he asked, receiving no response. The pirate hummed in endearment, gently resting his chin on the brunet's head. He would have preferred to have Ling Tong facing him, but he decided not to risk waking him up. Gan Ning only hoped he wouldn't end up knocking those bottles on the floor over and breaking them when he woke up.

* * *

Ling Tong woke with a start, hurriedly sitting up and sniffling as tears ran down his face. He took a second to realize he wasn't dreaming anymore, sighing with relief as he realized that what he just experienced was, in fact, a dream in the first place. Gan Ning groggily reached around the brunet and nuzzled his waist, convincing him to lay back down.

"Nightmare?" he asked. Ling Tong nodded, sniffling again as his eyes dried. "Wanna talk about it?"

"There was another one of those shapeshifting things," the brunet started, trying to remember it as he went along, "and it turned into you again. We didn't have any way of telling you two apart, and it was frustrating and stupid."

"Is that why you're crying?" Gan Ning laughed. Ling Tong sighed in annoyance, bumping the pirate with his shoulder.

"Lord Sun Quan was getting impatient and he ordered me to kill it, but didn't try to help figure out which was which. So I had to guess... and I ended up killing you."

Gan Ning's smile didn't drop off his face, and Ling Tong leaned in and bit the pirate's lip.

"What are you smiling about?" he asked.

"Nothing, it's just..." the blond finally let his smile drop as he held his lover close, "I remember when killing me would've been a dream come true for you."

Silence ensued until Ling Tong yawned, lazily stifling it with the back of his hand.

"Let's go back to sleep," Gan Ning suggested. Ling Tong nodded, turning from his back to his side so he could face the pirate. The brunet traced the lines of the tattoos he could barely see in the darkness of the night until he fell asleep again, feeling plenty safe and warm in the arms of the one he used to hate most. He found it ironic for as long as he could, unable to transfer that feeling into his dreams.


	15. Mirum

When morning came, Lu Meng had woken Gan Ning and Ling Tong, calling them to an early morning meeting. The duo received some strange looks on their way to the conference room, and Ling Tong could only assume Lianshi ended up spreading some rumors, intentionally or not. Upon entering the room, Ling Tong couldn't help but stare at one of the two new faces, finding him quite attractive. Gan Ning scowled and tugged the brunet's arm as they sat down together. Sun Quan stood, clearing his throat.

"Allow me to introduce two new recruits," he spoke, a somewhat nervous undertone slipping out from beneath his professional tone of authority, "Chen Gong and Guo Jia. They'll be serving as strategists for us, from now on..."

Whispers filled the room and Ling Tong caught a few murmurs of "now people are coming back to life?" and "but they were loyal to..." before the darker haired one stood up.

"Now, now, I know what you're all thinking," he said, giving a lopsided grin, "but we're not dead, obviously. We simply went undercover after faking our own deaths. Cao Cao is a difficult man to avoid, after all."

The blond that Ling Tong still found himself entranced by spoke up as well, "Chen Gong here as well as myself would very much appreciate if you would not spread rumors about our continued existence, accordingly."

The officers in the room eventually began nodding and ceased whispering among themselves, accepting the story as believable enough. Sun Quan cleared his throat again.

"Gaining two gifted strategists in one day is quite a fortunate turn of events. I know we only just recently held a party, but I think yet another is in order, tonight!" Sun Quan then dismissed everyone, relieved that the announcement of another party had lifted everyone's spirits, as the atmosphere of suspicion had been crushing his nerves. Lianshi rubbed his back, and he assured her he was fine, suppressing a sigh of relief as he left the room. The two new strategists stayed behind, talking to officers that had decided to approach them until Guo Jia caught Ling Tong on his way out.

"You there," he pointed, walking forward, "I'd like to speak with you."

"He's busy," Gan Ning interjected, frowning when Ling Tong stepped in front of him.

"I'm not, actually. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I caught you staring at me and I was wondering if you'd like to spend the night with me," he bluntly requested, smiling as Ling Tong gasped and looked away.

"Hang on, I thought you were pretty much famous for liking women as opposed to men?" Gan Ning asked, quickly finding himself getting angry. Ling Tong was blushing slightly, trying to will it away before he dared to make eye contact again.

"Mm? I've never touched a woman in my life," Guo Jia denied, taking Ling Tong's hand in his own and bringing it up to kiss his wrist, "and you're more beautiful than any woman I've seen."

"Alright, that's enough," Gan Ning growled, gritting his teeth as he pulled the brunet's hand away, "I'll have you know he's mine."

"I believe people aren't property to be owned," Guo Jia remarked, "are you going to let him talk about you like that?"

Ling Tong shook his head. "It's fine, he's just possessive over me. It's not like he doesn't treat me like a person. As for your offer, though... I'll have to decline."

"Ah, I understand. If you ever find yourself in need of decent company, however, just know I'm always eager to speak to a beauty like yourself." Ling Tong swallowed, feeling heat rise to his face again until Gan Ning hastily pulled him out of the room and away from Guo Jia, nostrils flaring as he tried his best not to give a scream of frustration.

"What's the matter with you?" he asked, not slowing his pace in the slightest. "Why are you letting yourself get wooed by that jackass?"

"I already told you blonds are my type," Ling Tong reminded, "but something about him kind of creeps me out. Besides, it's not like I was going to cheat on you."

"Sure seemed like you were considering it..."

"If you're going to be this bitter about it, maybe I should go see him," Ling Tong threatened, pulling his hand away, "I'd rather deal with his flirting than your senseless anger."

At that, Gan Ning stopped walking, letting some tension leave his shoulders as he calmed down.

"I'm sorry, alright? It's not like I'm mad at you." Ling Tong crossed his arms.

"Then why don't you go take your anger out on him instead of me?"

"I'm sorry," the pirate repeated, pulling Ling Tong into a hug. The brunet sighed, brushing some hair away from his face.

"Let's get something to eat," he suggested, "then we can take a walk, and then a bath. Together."

Gan Ning showed a small smile, tilting his head. "There's gonna be booze tonight, too. I definitely can't stay annoyed all day."

"Let's just hope I don't get drunk enough to sleep with... the other blond," Ling Tong joked. Gan Ning frowned again but quickly returned to a grin.

"Like him so much you forgot his name, huh?" Ling Tong clicked his tongue, unable to bring himself to lie by omission.

"Actually, I just didn't want you to think I memorized every detail or something," he admitted, "but if you recall, you're more my type than him, anyway. More body mass, remember?"

"The guy could hide behind the leg of a table," Gan Ning said, rolling his neck as he continued walking forward. Ling Tong chuckled and followed him.

* * *

"Chen Gong, you're not acting quite as... rumored," an officer spoke, catching the dark haired man's attention away from Guo Jia.

"Ah, you see, people change after several years of pretending to be dead to avoid a dangerous man," he said. Guo Jia nodded.

"And I also heard that Guo Jia loved to drink..." another officer chimed.

"People change," Chen Gong repeated.

"As do tastebuds," Guo Jia said, taking a sip of his water. He looked over when a pesky pirate finally left the side of a certain brunet, immediately moving in while he had the chance.

"Hello, gorgeous," he greeted, bowing before taking a seat next to Ling Tong.

"You'd better not let Gan Ning catch you calling me that," he warned, "he'd go berserk."

"Ah, but you yourself don't seem to mind, now do you?" Guo Jia chuckled as Ling Tong looked away, easily noticing the blush adorning his cheeks from a mix of alcohol and embarrassment. The blond leaned in and kissed a red cheek, causing it to become even more pleasantly warm against his lips.

"My apologies," he offered, "I couldn't resist. I'm usually able to restrain myself better than this, but you're just so beautiful."

"Uh... I'll let it slide," Ling Tong said, unable to hold the man's gaze. Guo Jia's eyes quickly scanned the room before he held the brunet by his waist, leaning in to whisper in his ear.

"Would you let another thing slide?" he murmured, deliberately letting his lips brush against Ling Tong's earlobe, who couldn't help but shiver. Quickly collecting himself, the brunet pushed Guo Jia away and stood up.

"No, you know I'm already taken," he said, feeling a twinge of guilt at the sad look in the blond's eyes, "s-sorry."

"I understand," he assured, "I'll be leaving you alone, then."

Guo Jia then left just in time for Gan Ning to return, making Ling Tong jump at the arms suddenly wrapped around him.

"Scared him off without my help this time, huh?" Ling Tong rolled his eyes.

"It's not like you scared him before." Ling Tong wanted to punch himself for feeling bad about letting the strategist down like that, and he quickly turned around and caught the pirate in a kiss.

"Let's go back to my room," Gan Ning said, nuzzling the brunet's neck. Ling Tong pushed away, sitting down again and patting the seat beside him.

"I'm gonna drink a little more first. Stick around to make sure nobody else tries to hook up with me, alright?" Gan Ning laughed, happily stealing the bottle Ling Tong was about to drink from and finishing its contents, sliding a full bottle over to him. Ling Tong frowned, uncorking it and pouring the drink into a goblet. He always thought it tasted better straight out of the bottle and relished in the last few sips, and the pirate shared his sentiments. They finished the bottle together and left, stopping to wonder at how strange Chen Gong's oddly contagious laugh was as they heard it on their way out.

"Just want you to know, if you say his name while we-"

"I won't, I won't," Ling Tong was eager to assure, "he's not even that attractive compared to you."

"I didn't realize you found me so hot," Gan Ning smirked, kissing the brunet's cheek before continuing the walk to his room. Ling Tong only sighed, knowing there were still officers in the halls and that even more rumors would likely spread about them. He was too drunk to care, however, eagerly following Gan Ning as he refused to let himself dwell on it.


	16. Lympha

A week had passed since Guo Jia and Chen Gong's appearance and the army was slowly starting to accept them with less and less suspicion. Ling Tong tried his best to stay away from Guo Jia, politely explaining that Gan Ning would probably do something irrational if he saw even an innocent kiss on the cheek. Guo Jia had reluctantly backed off completely, holding his tongue the best he could around Gan Ning but occasionally still flirting when the pirate wasn't lingering around Ling Tong.

Ling Tong quickly turned his head, distracted by the sound of footsteps and receiving a punch in the stomach. Gan Ning gasped, quickly holding the brunet. Guo Jia raised a brow at the scene, quickly realizing the two had been training before the blond interrupted them.

"Are you ok?" Gan Ning asked, worriedly hovering his hands all over the brunet as if he was afraid to touch him.

"I'm fine," he managed after a moment of trying not to throw up as he recovered, "I just wasn't paying attention."

"How come? You were fine a second ago!" Gan Ning then turned his head to where Guo Jia stood, holding a small box in one hand. "What do you want? Ling Tong's busy."

"Actually, I was looking for you, Gan Ning. I wouldn't want any hard feelings between us, so I thought we could talk," Guo Jia said, gesturing the pirate to follow him a short distance away from Ling Tong. Gan Ning looked to the brunet, sighing and walking forward when he just nodded and sat down, eager to take a break from training.

"Yeah? What do you want?" Guo Jia held out the box and opened it, revealing two matching rings.

"If I can't have Ling Tong, I can only wish him happiness with you," he said, sounding sincere enough for Gan Ning to almost start to like him, "so I thought I would suggest you two get married. You can use these rings, if you'd like."

"Thanks, but I'll pass. Ling Tong isn't interested in marriage because he's scared of people who don't approve of two guys getting it on or something. Plus, I have plenty of jewelry leftover from my pirate days that he seems to like." Gan Ning remembered that morning when he had caught Ling Tong staring at the contents of the treasure chest beneath his bed again. The brunet had panicked when Gan Ning caught him, quickly shoving it back under the bed and cursing under his breath as the pirate laughed. He smiled at the thought.

"Mm, well it's the thought that counts, I suppose," he said, closing the box and hiding it in his clothes. "If you change your mind or simply find yourself wanting to speak with me, my ear is always open for you."

Gan Ning tilted his head, humming in slight wonder as the strategist walked away. Ling Tong snuck up behind the pirate, hoping to startle him by wrapping his arms around his neck, but Gan Ning didn't jump.

"What did he want to talk about?" Ling Tong asked, hoping Gan Ning wasn't too aggressive when Guo Jia had come in peace.

"Nothing," he lied, "but I don't think he'll be flirting with you anymore."

Ling Tong removed himself from the blond, crossing his arms.

"So you got angry with him and told him to back off yet again?" he accused. The blond clicked his tongue.

"Fine, he said he wants us to be happy and said we should get married, alright?" Ling Tong laughed.

"That doesn't sound believable in the slightest!"

"Well, it's what happened! Go ask him," he said, jabbing a finger in the direction Guo Jia had gone. The brunet shook his head.

"That won't be necessary," he paused, unintentionally lowering his voice slightly, "more importantly, what did you say?"

"I told him about how you don't wanna get married is all," he said, for some reason reluctant to mention the rings. Ling Tong sighed.

"You know it's not because I don't love you or anything, right? It's just that, not everyone approves of relationships like this," the brunet assured, taking his scarf off and heading back inside, uncomfortable with the feeling of it sticking to his skin from the sweat of exertion.

"Are we taking a bath?" Gan Ning looked overjoyed at the prospect and Ling Tong raised a brow before failing to suppress a laugh.

* * *

As soon as Ling Tong attempted to relax in the warm water, he felt Gan Ning come up behind him, slowly kissing all around his neck. Ling Tong allowed the kisses, giving a content sigh as Gan Ning pulled the brunet onto his lap, playing with his nipples that were newly exposed to the cool air of the bathroom. He tried to relax into the touch, failing as he whimpered and arched slightly. He could already feel the pirate hard against him, teasingly rubbing back and smiling when he earned a small groan.

"God, I want you," he whispered, reaching down to start stretching the brunet. Deciding to play with Gan Ning a bit, he began stroking himself and giving exaggerated moans, smiling when the pirate cursed in his ear. The blond had enough self control to finish stretching Ling Tong, but not enough not to set a fast pace after slowly pushing into the brunet and making sure he was ready. It was a bit strange, moving like that underwater, but hearing Ling Tong's moans amplified by the echo of the room spurred him to go as fast as he could.

"Faster," Ling Tong begged, whining when Gan Ning pulled out, frustrated by the resistance of the water. He moved Ling Tong onto the floor, pushing him onto his back and relishing in the sight before entering him again, finally able to comply to the brunet's wish. They finished together with a kiss and Gan Ning gently pulled the other man back into the bath, returning to leaving slow little kisses on every bit of skin that was above the water. His range lessened as Ling Tong sunk further down, feeling cold. Gan Ning held the brunet's wet hair back, kissing his cheek.

"You sure you don't wanna get married?" Gan Ning asked, holding Ling Tong closer when he tried to get out. He sighed, not bothered by having to stay in the warm water a bit longer.

"I'm sure," he replied, wishing he could just teleport to his bed and fall asleep, as he didn't feel like sleeping in the bath. Gan Ning frowned slightly but left the topic alone. Ling Tong tried to ask the pirate to keep him awake, but found only a tired hum came out as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

"You can nap, baby," the pirate assured, "I'll wake you up in a little bit."

Ling Tong nodded slightly, sinking down until his chin was barely above the water, trusting Gan Ning to keep him from drowning once he fell asleep. He felt one last kiss on his cheek before losing consciousness.


	17. Oro

After Ling Tong had finally gotten out of the bath and made the tedious walk back to his room, he had only gotten to sleep for an hour before a servant came and informed him of a meeting being held. Ling Tong groaned, wishing Gan Ning was beside him to complain to. The brunet glanced at his mirror, retying his ponytail and straightening out his clothes as he left for the conference room. Once there, Ling Tong was just as surprised as the other officers in the room when a plan of attack was brought up.

"But our last battle was barely a month ago!"

"Are you sure that's a smart move..?"

"Now, now, I know this is unexpected!" Sun Quan raised his voice to be heard over the debating officers, immediately silencing them. "Our two new strategists as well as some of our older, trustworthy ones all recommend this course of action. We're finally claiming the rest of Yangzhou!"

"The enemy won't expect us so early, and we already have much of that area. It'll be a relatively easy victory, if you all may trust us and keep the army's morale high," Guo Jia pitched in, giving a slight bow. Sun Quan nodded.

"We'll be moving for Yangzhou in three days, so be prepared!" With that, he quickly dismissed the meeting, staying behind to address any concerns. Ling Tong walked out, merging his path with Gan Ning, who he noticed was holding something.

"No way... did you really bring a bottle of liquor into a meeting?" Ling Tong asked, astonished. The pirate held the bottle up, grinning.

"It's not like I got in trouble or anything, so it's fine, right?" The brunet rolled his eyes, reaching for the bottle. The blond responded by holding it above his head. Ling Tong looked up slightly, laughing.

"I'm taller than you, idiot!" He then grabbed the bottle, accidentally spilling some of the contents on Chen Gong's robes, who happened to have been walking by. "Uh, sorry."

"It's... no problem!" Chen Gong assured, seeming pained at first, but then laughing it off. Ling Tong could swear he saw some sort of dust coming off of the man, but assumed it was dirt or his imagination. Unable to shake off what he saw, he turned to Gan Ning once Chen Gong had walked away.

"Did you see that?" he asked tentatively, moving his hand further away from Gan Ning when the pirate tried to take the bottle back.

"See what? You wasting my booze?" Ling Tong chuckled, taking a drink of the liquor before finally handing it back over. Gan Ning contentedly drank the rest before the brunet could take it again.

"Hey, shouldn't we train more since there's a battle coming up in just three days?" the brunet suggested.

"Tomorrow," Gan Ning replied, rolling his neck.

* * *

"I'm proud of you," Gan Ning joked as Ling Tong sat down, exhausted, "you actually made it past half an hour this time."

"I really have to work on building my stamina back up," he sighed, lying back on the grass. Gan Ning climbed on top of him, hastily opening the brunet's shirt and playing with the nipples he found. Ling Tong gave a small sigh, wishing he could bring himself to tell the pirate to stop since they were in public. However, it seemed he didn't need to tell him, as Gan Ning stopped on his own. Ling Tong was almost relieved until he looked over and saw Guo Jia.

"Ah, don't mind me," he said, smiling, "just pretend you didn't see me."

"As if, weirdo," Gan Ning retorted, roughly pulling Ling Tong's shirt back together and standing up. The brunet followed suit, reminding himself to be careful so the blood didn't rush to his head.

"Mm? I wasn't doing anything strange, I'd like to think," Guo Jia innocently remarked, earning a scowl from Gan Ning.

"Listen, if you don't-"

"Come on, Xingba," Ling Tong interrupted, using the pirate's style to both grab his attention and attempt to calm him down, "he's not doing anything wrong. You're the one who decided to start molesting me in public."

"Well, yeah, but-"

"What do you mean, 'but'? It's not like he snuck into one of our rooms or something! Just let it go."

"But he's-"

"But nothing! He already wished us his best and he hasn't even been flirting with me. You need to get over this hatred for him, it's completely unfounded!"

"He still hit on you to begin with, and right in front of me, too!"

"If it makes you feel any better, I sincerely apologize for my... previous actions," Guo Jia cut in, expecting to be interrupted.

"You don't have to-"

"Alright, fine. Apology accepted."

"No, he didn't have to apologize."

"Yes he did! He knew full well you're with me but I saw him kiss you the other day!"

"It was just an innocent kiss on the cheek, he wasn't going any further!"

"Then how come he leaned in and nibbled at your ear, too?"

"He didn't 'nibble'-"

"I hate to interrupt bu-"

"Then what was he doing? Trying to whisper sweet nothings into your ear instead?"

"Well, don't say it like that..."

Guo Jia sighed, quietly sneaking off as the duo continued to argue. He looked back to make sure they were still occupied before he made himself scarce, silently thankful that he wouldn't have to face the pirate's anger for the time being.


	18. Laesus

The time until the battle passed by faster than Ling Tong would have liked. He recalled laying in bed with Gan Ning, whispering "two more days..." as he traced the pirate's tattoos with his finger as if it was only a few hours ago. Presently, the two were separated as they waited for orders in their main camp. Ling Tong looked around for the blond once he deemed himself ready for battle, finding another blond instead.

"Ah, hello there," Guo Jia greeted, smiling as he walked towards Ling Tong.

"Sorry about the other day," he apologized. Guo Jia just chuckled, shaking his head.

"I'm surprised that was the only time I caught you two arguing like that. I hear it happens often." Ling Tong frowned at that, half of him curious as to what kind of rumors were spreading about the pirate and himself, but the other half almost scared to know.

"Well-"

"We're moving out!" Sun Quan yelled, making the brunet completely forget what he was about to say. He gave Guo Jia one last glance and the blond nodded at him as they ran out of the gates. After a few minutes, Ling Tong finally heard bells near him and looked over just in time to see Gan Ning defeat an enemy officer. He smirked, deciding to turn it into a contest without telling the pirate so he wouldn't get competitive. He supposed he'd feel bad if he won, but the brunet's tried that trick more than once and lost more often than not.

The battle went rather smoothly, with most of Cao Cao's better troops failing to appear on the battlefield. He didn't see a single officer he recognized. That is, until he saw what he thought looked like a flash of red and long, black hair. Ling Tong gasped, running towards the crowd of enemies. Expecting to find an ally, he was shocked to see the dark haired man strike down a few soldiers of Wu, completely avoiding dealing any damage to the troops of Wei.

"Lord Zhou Yu..?" Ling Tong asked. He couldn't believe his eyes. Zhou Yu had always been loyal to Wu, so much so that the very idea of a fire attack failing and possibly injuring their own soldiers had stressed him to the point of illness. He was believed to have been dead, and Ling Tong was sure Sun Quan hadn't been lying when he had somberly announced the man's death, eyes red from crying.

"Ah, finally a warrior almost as beautiful as myself!"

"Wh-what?" Ling Tong blinked several times as Zhou Yu saluted and bowed before quickly getting back into a fighting stance. "Wait, hang on! Lord Zhou Yu, is that really... you?"

"Hm? Of course it is me! I am Zhou Yu, a warrior of true beauty rivalled only by master Zhang He himself!" The logic suddenly hit Ling Tong as he realized the Zhou Yu in front of him must have been one of those shapeshifting creatures. He contemplated whether Guo Jia and Chen Gong were real as well before he narrowly avoided being whacked by the other man's staff.

"Alright, I'll show you beauty!" Ling Tong struck at Zhou Yu's side with his nunchucks, surprising himself when the hit actually landed. Zhou Yu stumbled sideways, holding his side before recovering and pointing his staff at Ling Tong again. The brunet raised a brow, attempting to hit the other man over the head with his nunchucks and once again succeeding. The creature imitating Zhou Yu fell pathetically to the ground, unconscious and retaining his form, which was a mild surprise.

"I guess these shapeshifters aren't so great at fighting..." Ling Tong thought out loud. "That explains how they caught the other one so quickly."

That train of thought reminded the brunet of Gan Ning, and he searched for another officer to capture Zhou Yu. Once he saw that the imposter was securely tied with ropes from the nearby garrison, Ling Tong ran off towards where he last heard bells, frowning when the pirate unsurprisingly was no longer there. He searched around more, claiming two garrisons along the way until a messenger came to him, telling him the enemy commander, Cao Pi, had been forced to retreat as he was quickly outnumbered and had hesitated to attack Guo Jia. Ling Tong sighed, slowing his pace into a jog as he continued listening for the sound of bells.

However, Ling Tong never heard them. He found a clearing, frustratedly making his way towards a tree to lean on it, but he stopped when he saw a hand on the ground behind it. He quickly walked around the tree, gasping when he found the pirate he had been looking for, blood spattered across his face and chest. Ling Tong fell to his knees, panicking as he felt for a pulse. He was too shaky to properly feel one and was startled when Gan Ning weakly reached up to rest his hand on Ling Tong's arm.

"I leave you alone for one battle and you do this?!" the brunet yelled, struggling to breathe properly. Gan Ning only smiled, leaning his head to the side. Ling Tong caught the blond's face in his hand and shook him slightly. "Don't. Don't you dare. You'd better not leave me, I'll never forgive you! Please..."

"'m fine," Gan Ning managed, sounding quiet and hoarse. Ling Tong felt tears well in his eyes.

"You're not fine! Look at you!"

"Fine..." the pirate repeated, closing his eyes. Ling Tong panicked again, shaking the pirate and letting the tears stream down his face.

"Xingba..." he whispered, "Xingba, please don't leave me..."

The brunet slowly leaned in to kiss Gan Ning, sighing in relief as he felt the pirate's breath against his lips. He eased Gan Ning up, throwing the pirate's arm over his shoulders and supporting his weight as he carried him. When he got to the main camp, a doctor and a few nurses took the pirate off of Ling Tong, carefully maneuvering him into one of the tents for wounded soldiers. The brunet had stood in place in the tent while the doctor wrapped Gan Ning's wounds, even when he had been asked to leave. He slowly sat down next to Gan Ning as the doctor finally left after making sure he had done all he could for the blond. Ling Tong gently took a hand in his own.

"Idiot..." he whispered, "if you die on me, I'll just have to bring you back to life somehow and kill you again."

Ling Tong closed his eyes, imagining the pirate had smiled, maybe even laughed. He imagined he'd get up, wrapping his arms around the brunet and whispering that he was sorry. Ling Tong kept imagining until the images he saw became dreams.


	19. Spiro

Ling Tong awoke in a laying position with arms wrapped around him. He didn't find it odd until he realized he had fallen asleep sitting up and turned around to see that his pirate was still injured. He moved further down and gently raised Gan Ning's arm to rest it on his cheek, faintly able to feel the pirate's pulse through his fingers. Gan Ning then moved his arm back down, opening his eyes slightly in tired confusion.

"You ok?" he murmured, sighing as he shifted slightly. Ling Tong almost felt like laughing.

"Of course I'm ok," he said, "I'm not the one who got injured."

Gan Ning only gave a grunt, closing his eyes again. Ling Tong wanted to allow to blond to fall back asleep, but he recalled something that had been bothering him.

"Gan... Xingba, wait. Before you go back to sleep, I..." the brunet hesitated as Gan Ning opened his eyes again, "I don't think I ever said... I, uh..."

"I love you, baby," the pirate whispered, holding Ling Tong close. He stared for a second before nodding slightly, moving back up so he was eye level with Gan Ning.

"I... love you, too." Gan Ning smiled, but didn't say anything else. Once Ling Tong thought he had fallen asleep again, however, the pirate spoke up.

"Let's do it." Ling Tong squinted at him in the darkness.

"Do... what? You don't mean- no, Xingba! You're injured, I'm not risking hurting you or... or worse, alright? You'll just have to wait."

"Then jerk off in front of me," he maintained, "I wanna see it."

"N-no, if you get hard, we'd have to ta-"

"Just do it, don't worry about me." Ling Tong frowned, frustrated.

"You're not making any sense! Besides, you'll probably fall asleep while you watch, or something..."

"C'mon," Gan Ning leaned in closer as he lowered his voice back to a whisper, "how about I let you top?"

"I-I... I'm not-"

"I'll just lay back and let you do all the work, yeah? Then I won't be straining myself."

"What do you mean 'let me do all the work'? ... No, you'd still be convulsing, and..." Ling Tong trailed off, honestly trying to decide whether or not he'd even like to top, no matter the situation.

"What? 's what you do, right?" Ling Tong had to admit the pirate had a fair point, and he felt a little guilty.

"You'll have to wait until you're at least a little more healed. You sound like you can barely talk, and I doubt you can walk on your own yet, too." Gan Ning sighed.

"Soon as we get home?"

"We'll see," Ling Tong said, turning around and leaning back against the pirate.

"Will you talk me to sleep?" he mumbled, nuzzling the back of the brunet's head.

"What does that mean?"

"Just talk to me," he said, "tell me about your dreams or somethin'."

Ling Tong sighed as he tried to think of what to say. Since he was put on the spot, he drew a complete blank, his mind emptying itself out of spite. The brunet thought harder, furrowing his brow in slight annoyance until he found something.

"I had a dream about you the other night," he said, hoping he'd be able to recall it as he went along. Gan Ning hummed in curiosity to show he was still awake. Seeing as the pirate didn't feel like speaking, he continued.

"I was sitting under a tree, and Lu Xun and Lu Meng were talking to each other in the distance. I couldn't hear what they were saying. All I heard was some wind and then bells as you approached me." Ling Tong paused to remember what happened next.

"Did we have sex?" Gan Ning asked. The brunet couldn't help but laugh at the question.

"No, we didn't. You sat next to me and handed me a peach, but it turned out there was a talking worm in it. It said something about, uh... oh, it wanted to send us on some sort of quest to find Zhou Tai. Apparently he'd gone missing. We agreed, and I don't remember what happened right after that, but at some point we ended up in some kind of haunted castle with suits of armor that would look like they were going to attack, but would get scared and run away."

"Prob'ly scared 'em off..." Ling Tong smiled. He continued for a while until Gan Ning stopped responding, breathing evenly into the brunet's ear. He enjoyed the sound and relaxed, hoping with all of his being that the breathing in his ear never stopped.


	20. Veritas

Come morning, the first thing Ling Tong had done was check on Zhou Yu, finding that Lu Xun had ordered a team of guards to take shifts in watching him. The imposter had remained silent, looking as if he was contemplating something and seeming pained whenever someone who knew him approached. When asked what was wrong, he whispered that he had a migraine and continued his silence.

Soon after, Gan Ning had limped out of his tent in search for Ling Tong, insisting that he could walk and immediately stumbling forward, proving himself wrong. The pirate had been overjoyed to hold onto Ling Tong from behind during the horse ride home. After being forced to stay awake for so long, as well as having his wounds irritated from being bounced on the horse, Gan Ning had Ling Tong help him to his room, begging one more time to sleep with the brunet. Ling Tong had scoffed and thrown a blanket over the blond, promptly leaving to speak to Sun Quan.

"Hello, Gongji," Guo Jia greeted. Ling Tong felt anxiety rise in him. "I heard about lord Zhou Yu, or, I suppose it's not him at all..."

"You're one of them, too, aren't you?" Ling Tong asked with little hesitation, relaxing ever so slightly when Guo Jia looked dejected rather than angry.

"I'm hurt that you would accuse me of such a thing," he said after a short moment, seeming as if he was about to say something else, but closing his mouth. It was clear that the strategist was attempting to be very careful with the situation.

"If they can turn into people who've died, it makes sense that you would be one, too... even if you don't remember it," Ling Tong said, remembering Zhou Yu's situation, or at least what it appeared to be for the time being. Guo Jia's look of sad fascination in his eyes turned into sparkling pools of clarity as he apparently decided what to do. The brunet raised a brow.

"Yes." Ling Tong waited for him to speak further, but the blond didn't.

"Yes, what? You admit you're a shapeshifter? That you lied to us, to me?"

"Yes... and if I'm being honest, Chen Gong and myself had orders that we both remember quite clearly." Guo Jia took a step forward, lessening the distance between the two men. "We were to take Wu apart from the inside... however, since meeting you, I simply couldn't bring myself to do it. I've been able to keep Chen Gong from causing any damage thus far, as well."

"So he's one, too. I figured as-"

"I beg of you, please don't tell lord Sun Quan," Guo Jia interrupted, taking another step forward, "we don't know how rationally he'll react. I've done nothing but good for you people of Wu..."

"Yeah, well you also lied to us," Ling Tong reminded, "but... maybe you can convince him to keep letting you help us. I'll, uh... I'll vouch for you."

"Thank you," he whispered, attempting to take another step towards Ling Tong, but the brunet had stepped backwards, feeling as if the strategist was too close for comfort.

"Right, well, let's get going, then," he said, turning partially towards the direction Sun Quan was. "Get ahead of me."

Guo Jia smiled briefly, thinking the brunet was being self conscious as he was with his pirate, but the smile quickly left his face as he realized Ling Tong was afraid of being stabbed in the back. Ling Tong's heart raced as he heard footsteps slowly approaching them, both men turning to see Chen Gong.

"You two seem rather somber," he said, eyeing the brunet suspiciously, but still showing his signature grin. Ling Tong found his arms shaking slightly as he swallowed, slowly bringing his gaze back over to Guo Jia, who quickly stepped between him and the darker haired man.

"Yes... Ling Tong here has rejected me yet again," he lied, "I jokingly threatened to take Gan Ning out of the equation and he got upset, though I already apologized. We were about to..."

Guo Jia looked at Ling Tong, waiting for a cue of some sort. The brunet quickly added, "Get something to eat. We were about to head to the kitchen."

"The kitchen... is in the direction I came from," Chen Gong pointed out, moving out of the way for them. Ling Tong mentally cursed at himself, focusing all of his willpower to stop his limbs from shaking. Guo Jia didn't move, and Ling Tong eventually spoke up.

"We'll, uh... be going, then," Ling Tong said, turning to face the direction of the kitchen.

"Yes, let's."

"I know you two are lying," Chen Gong said, his grin disappearing. "I heard your conversation. I would expect this from Ling Tong, but why would you lie to me, Guo Jia?" Ling Tong doubted he had ever felt so frightened in his life.

"I... simply didn't..."

"You know we have to kill this boy now, right?" Ling Tong gasped, his instinct to flee kicking in, but unable to help him as he stood frozen in place. He attempted to calm down, repeating to himself in his head that the shapeshifters weren't good fighters, and that he would likely be fine... even if he was outnumbered in a small space by two great strategists. The brunet felt the small bit of relief he had gained quickly leaving him.

"No, Gongtai, please, think reasonably. Da..." Guo Jia cleared his throat, "that demon never treated us as well as the people of Wu have. We have the possibility to experience so much here, so many... positive encounters, we could have!"

"She treated us just fine, Fengxiao," Chen Gong argued, "and this boy of yours has to go, lest he blow our cover. Plus, with him out of the way, your inhibitions may lessen, right? Why don't you give him a kiss goodbye?"

Ling Tong finally found himself able to move, stepping backwards as Guo Jia complied, catching Ling Tong in a deep kiss as he pulled the brunet closer to Chen Gong. Ling Tong panicked before Guo Jia swiftly stomped on the dark haired man's foot, turning around and kicking him from behind his legs while he was still in shock. Guo Jia quickly pinned Chen Gong as the man fell backwards.

"Do something," he said with a tone of warning, as if he knew he couldn't hold the other strategist for very long. Ling Tong finally collected himself, patting his clothes and sighing in annoyance when he realized he didn't have his weapon, or anything hard at all, on him. He walked around Chen Gong and hesitated slightly before kicking him in the back of the head. The strategist's struggles ceased, his arms falling from Guo Jia's to the ground. The blond sighed in relief, removing himself from Chen Gong and standing again.

"I don't suppose you happen to have any rope on you?" he asked, bringing a hand to his lips as Ling Tong turned away, looking around for a supply closet of any kind and failing to find one.

"No... but we can't just leave him here. What do we do with him?"

"I'll stay here and try to convince him to change his mind if he wakes up," Guo Jia offered, Ling Tong shook his head.

"No, I still don't..." he paused as he thought of the events that had just transpired, "I'm not sure if I can completely trust you. You could just be doing what you can to survive..."

"I've never once lied to you, Gongji," he said, moving closer again.

"Oh, really?"

"I never said I wasn't a shapeshifter, did I?" Ling Tong looked away as the blond stepped closer. "However, my species can't transform more than once. If I could, I would turn into your Xingba, just for you..."

"No, that would only cause trouble. We've had an imposter of him around before, and it didn't end well for that one."

"I didn't mean permanently." Guo Jia carefully raised a hand to cup Ling Tong's cheek. "Just to convince you to love me back..."

Ling Tong almost felt guilty at the sudden urge to punch the blond. "Well, we can be friends, I guess, but I'm staying faithful. I don't love you, alright? I'm sorry."

"Mm, at least you aren't trying to manipulate me by lying," he said, seemingly unbothered by the statement. Ling Tong figured the strategist probably thought he still somehow had a chance.

"Well, we're wasting time... help me carry him." Guo Jia nodded and the two picked Chen Gong up together, an arm over both of their shoulders as they finally headed towards Sun Quan. Guo Jia closed his eyes, content that he got to kiss the brunet before his own somewhat likely demise.


	21. Basium

"First off," Sun Quan said as he had a few guards take Chen Gong off of Guo Jia and Ling Tong's hands, "tell me everything you can. While you haven't caused any damage to us yet, you're still inhuman, and we've had a problem with a shapeshifter killing our officers before."

"Mm, and from what I hear, he was of the species that couldn't talk as the trade-off for being able to transform more than once. It's often believed they don't think as... individually as my species," Guo Jia mused.

"Your species? What are your circumstances?" he asked, sitting down.

"My species remains unnamed and not very... unique, so to speak, until we choose a target to transform into. We can only do this once, and we need to absorb the target's skeleton into ourselves." Ling Tong made a face as he imagined it, noticing Sun Quan seemed uncomfortable as well.

"So you basically are Guo Jia now? You don't have a name or face besides his?" Ling Tong spoke up, not failing to catch how Guo Jia was temporarily lost in his eyes. He was tempted to roll them.

"That's correct. When we become the target, we also absorb a fair amount of their memories and personality. I know the gist of his past, but I wouldn't be able to recognize his mother, for example. Once the information is absorbed, we can choose to act like the target or simply ignore it."

"Is that so... I would assume Chen Gong is similar enough, but Gongjin..." Sun Quan looked pained, "I mean, Zhou Yu chose to discard the information?"

"I'm not sure what's going on with him, actually," Guo Jia admitted, "it seems he may have a case of amnesia. I'm sure it doesn't matter much, however."

"Can you guys die?" Ling Tong suddenly asked, and Guo Jia looked away, sighing.

"When injured, we slowly regenerate, no matter how bad the wound is. However..." Guo Jia was hesitant to go on, and Ling Tong stepped forward, getting close to the strategist.

"However..?" Guo Jia gave a small hum of reluctance. Ling Tong clicked his tongue, turning to Sun Quan. "Do you think you could look away for a minute?"

"Why? What do you plan to do?"

"It's nothing, I promise. Just... just close your eyes."

Trusting Ling Tong, Sun Quan nodded and complied. Just as Guo Jia tilted his head, the brunet leaned in and kissed him, earning an excited gasp. The strategist tried to lean into it, but Ling Tong pulled away and placed a finger to Guo Jia's lips.

"Tell me what you were going to say," he whispered. Guo Jia hesitated for just a brief second longer before speaking again.

"We do have one weakness, and that is alcohol," he finally said, "and I don't mean we get addicted easily. Any sort of contact with it is dangerous to us."

"That seems familiar somehow..." Ling Tong closed his eyes just as Sun Quan opened his, peeking curiously at the duo. "Oh! I spilled some on Chen Gong and what looked like some kind of dust came off of him."

"Ah, no wonder he was so eager to be rid of you. He must have known there was a possibility you would figure it out." Ling Tong scratched his head.

"Well... I guess I didn't. But you two also weren't drinking at the party before. You came up to me with just a glass of water, if I remember correctly." Guo Jia nodded and Sun Quan solemnly stood up.

"There's only one way to test whether he's telling the truth."

"Uh, wait," Ling Tong said as Guo Jia stepped back slightly, "don't tell me you're thinking of testing it on him?"

"No..." Sun Quan closed his eyes again, "I think it's time Gongjin is put to rest."

There was silence between the three of them and Guo Jia tilted his head.

"Wouldn't it be more effective to test it on Chen Gong?" he chimed. "After all, he's expressed a desire to follow the orders we were given while Zhou Yu could still prove useful..."

Ling Tong shook his head and Sun Quan walked past the two and out of the room, not even glancing at them. They followed regardless, with Guo Jia taking the hint to stay quiet for the moment. Suddenly, a servant approached Ling Tong, seeming hurried.

"Lord Ling Tong! Lord Gan Ning is acting strange!" Ling Tong cursed under his breath.

"Another shapeshifter..? Well, what was he doing?" he asked, quickly getting frustrated.

"Well, he... he said 'where's my Gongji?' and... well, actually, there are conflicting rumors about your relationship and how you two may not hate each other anymore, but-"

"That's none of your business," Ling Tong interrupted, blushing slightly, "n-not to be rude, or anything. I'll, uh... go see what he wants, I guess. Guo Jia-"

"Please, call me Fengxiao." Ling Tong sighed.

"Alright, Fengxiao. You follow lord Sun Quan. Come to me after the test."

"Are you sure I'll be safe without you there to vouch for me? Perhaps I should follow you instead for the time being, especially considering it's never exactly pleasant to watch one of your own kind be killed..."

"No," Ling Tong protested, "I trust lord Sun Quan, and you should, too. Besides, you're a strategist, right? Or at least, you inherited his wit. You'll think of something."

Guo Jia sighed and the servant looked between the two men, confused. The blond turned on his heel and ran after Sun Quan before the man got too far away from him while Ling Tong headed in the opposite direction. As soon as he reached Gan Ning's room, the brunet found him standing, frowning at the mirror near his bed. He looked over when he realized Ling Tong was there.

"Hey, cutie," he greeted, "how come you weren't there when I woke up?"

"Don't call me that," Ling Tong replied as the blond embraced him, "and I had things to do."

"Alright, baby, I'll try not to."

"Don't call me that, either."

"What? Well, what am I supposed to call you, then?"

"You could try my name." Gan Ning clicked his tongue and Ling Tong rolled his eyes, removing the tattooed arms around himself to sit on the bed.

"Are we finally gonna do it?" the pirate asked, sitting next to Ling Tong and wrapping his arms around the brunet again.

"No, did you not see all your banda-"

Gan Ning cut him off with a kiss, moving in front of the brunet and pushing him down onto the bed. The pirate slowly ran his hand under Ling Tong's scarf, and the brunet reveled in the feeling, finding himself reluctant to fight back.

"I can walk and all, see? I'm fine," he said, occasionally interrupting himself with a gentle little kiss on Ling Tong's face, slowly making a trail to his neck. Suddenly feeling paranoid for some reason, Ling Tong attempted to push Gan Ning away before groaning shakily as the pirate stroked him. He moaned again as Gan Ning's mouth left the side of his neck to wrap itself around him.

"Want me to stop now?" he asked, teasingly running his lips across the head.

"Xingba," he whined, "please don't stop..."

Gan Ning smirked as he continued, relishing the brunet's thighs closing around his head as he moaned the pirate's name again, pulling at the sheets. Just as he knew Ling Tong was close, the pirate pulled away, moving up to kiss him.

"Now?" Ling Tong found his arms pinned and he gave a small helpless moan as Gan Ning ground their hips together.

"A-ah, Xingba... no, we... we still can't..." Gan Ning clicked his tongue, returning to stroking Ling Tong until the brunet came, quickly moving his other hand to catch the mess since he hadn't thought to take the man's shirt off. Gan Ning raised a brow as he thought he heard a short set of hurried footsteps near the door, which had been left ajar, he realized. Ling Tong straightened his clothes as he stood up, walking towards the door to close it, but gasping when he saw a certain strategist had been standing behind it.

"Ah... hello," Guo Jia said, giving a polite if not slightly nervous smile. Ling Tong was at a loss for words.

"What... what were you... did you watch us? Why are you here?"

"I simply didn't want to interrupt... but the reason why I'm here is that I lost lord Sun Quan. He had already disappeared from sight by the time you left, so I followed you when I couldn't find him." Ling Tong brought his hands up to his temples to rub gentle circles with his fingers as Gan Ning approached, having cleaned his hands.

"Enjoy the show?" he asked, clearly irritated. Guo Jia shrunk back slightly.

"Well, if I'm being honest, yes," he said, causing the pirate to step forward, scowling. Ling Tong quickly put a hand between them.

"We have to talk, actually." He looked at Guo Jia and sighed. "Come in, I guess."

Gan Ning calmed down relatively easily but continued glaring at Guo Jia as the situation was explained to him. The topic of the kiss used to fool Chen Gong was also brought up, and Gan Ning became angry again.

"Bastard, why do you keep kissing him without his consent?!" Gan Ning nearly yelled, struggling to keep his voice down but acknowledging that Ling Tong wouldn't want to draw attention to the trio, considering the door remained open.

"Well, he kissed me afterwards." Gan Ning gasped, turning to look at Ling Tong, who shook his head.

"Look, I just... he didn't want to reveal his uh... species' weakness, so I..."

"You kissed him? You're cheating on me!" Gan Ning accused, and Ling Tong shook his hands in front of him, moving to rest them on the blond's shoulder, but finding them pushed off.

"No, alright? No. I'm not cheating on you. I only did that to get information out of him, and it worked. I'm not cheating on you." Ling Tong felt a little guilty at the slightly disappointed look on the strategist's face.

"I was wondering, actually," Guo Jia somewhat shyly spoke up, "are either of you open to polyamory?"

"Shut the hell up," Gan Ning ordered, not breaking eye contact with Ling Tong, who had a powerful urge to look away.

"Xingba..." Ling Tong whispered, finally moving his gaze to the floor. Gan Ning waited a few moments before sighing.

"Well, when you say my name like that..." Ling Tong gasped, looking up again, "but don't think I'm letting you off the hook. You've gotta make it up to me, alright?"

"Yeah... I'll do that," he agreed, "once you're healed."

"Can't get anything past you, huh?" Gan Ning felt like he should have the urge to smile, but didn't. He settled for wrapping his arms around Ling Tong to show he was no longer angry, whispering "my little Gongji."

"So, about that question..." Guo Jia chimed, interrupting the moment.

"Nah, get out," Gan Ning said rather calmly, sitting down and sighing, "all this standing around's getting to me already. I guess I do still need to heal up."

"Mm, well, you do that. Ling Tong, would you have any idea where our lord is?" Guo Jia asked, expecting the brunet to lead him out of the room.

"Try the conference room or something. Ask around if he's not there." Ling Tong eased Gan Ning into a laying position, unable to suppress a smile when the pirate grinned slightly at him. Guo Jia hesitantly nodded, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

"Lay next to me, cutie," he said, and Ling Tong feigned annoyance as he took his shirt off before complying. "What, the rest aren't coming off?"

"No, just my shirt for now," he answered, snuggling up to the blond and pulling the blanket up over them.

"Will you talk me to sleep again?" Gan Ning asked. "I like hearing your voice."

Ling Tong simply gave a noise of disapproval, closing his eyes and relaxing in the pirate's hold. The feeling of bandages where warm skin used to be was slightly off-putting, but Ling Tong didn't have any trouble falling asleep regardless.


	22. Lacrimae

Ling Tong awoke crying softly, the tears feeling strange on his face. He took a moment to realize he had a nightmare before quietly sitting up, moving away from Gan Ning so his legs were over the side of the bed. The pirate moved forward, gently grabbing Ling Tong by the waist and kissing his back.

"What's wrong? 'nother nightmare?" Ling Tong nodded, swallowing as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "Did I die again?"

"No," the brunet replied, pulling Gan Ning's arms away, "it was about my father."

Silence ensued between them and Ling Tong stood up, finding his shirt and putting it back on.

"I guess I didn't realize you had nightmares about that..." the pirate whispered, giving Ling Tong a sympathetic look that the brunet wouldn't turn around to see.

"I've had nightmares since the day he died." Gan Ning grunted slightly as he stood up, slowly moving over to massage the brunet's hips before hugging him. The pirate rocked them slightly, resting his cheek on Ling Tong's shoulder.

"Feel better soon, baby," he murmured, pulling Ling Tong back over to the bed so he could sit again.

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened?" the brunet asked, suddenly remembering why the pirate was injured.

"What do you mean?" Gan Ning lied down again, sighing when Ling Tong didn't join him, instead choosing to continue sitting where the blond had placed him.

"On the battlefield, I mean," he specified, "how did you end up slumped against that tree?"

"Oh... I kinda got outnumbered," he explained, slightly embarrassed.

"What, that's it? Idiot..."

"No, wait. I didn't just jump into a huge group of enemies or anything," Gan Ning paused as he closed his eyes, remembering what happened, "there were only a few, but they ran when they saw me. I chased after them, but they sprung an ambush in a garrison. I managed to make it out, and I was looking for you, but I couldn't walk anymore by the time I got to where you found me."

"So what, you can't fight without my supervision all of a sudden?" Ling Tong didn't know if he should be amused or annoyed.

"No. It was just one trap, alright? It won't happen again," the pirate promised, patting the space next to him to remind the brunet to lay down.

"I think... I want to be alone tonight," he said, without standing up. There was silence for a minute.

"You're not gonna keep me company?" the pirate whispered, confused as the brunet lied down anyway, contradicting his words.

"I guess I don't know what I want," he admitted, "besides, your arms are too warm and tempting."

Gan Ning smiled, wrapping the aforementioned limbs around Ling Tong and whispering, "I love you so much."

"I know," the brunet sighed. Suddenly worried about what happened with Sun Quan and the shapeshifters, he sat up again, before figuring someone would have alerted him if anything drastic happened.

"Wanna be alone after all..?" Gan Ning asked, gently rubbing at Ling Tong's hand with his thumb.

"No, I just remembered Guo Jia and everyone else..."

"What, is he all you can think about now?" Gan Ning asked, annoyed. Ling Tong felt himself getting frustrated at the pirate's possessiveness.

"Look, I only kissed him once, and it's not like it was for fun. The only way I'd end up with him is if we did polyamory or whatever, like he said."

"It would be kinda hot to see you spitroasted," Gan Ning admitted, causing Ling Tong to blush slightly, "but not with that guy."

Ling Tong lied down again and kissed his pirate, feeling Gan Ning's hands running up his sides.

"Want me to get you off again?" he whispered, and Ling Tong reluctantly shook his head.

"It's not fair to you..."

"What are you talking about? I love seeing you all helpless like that." Gan Ning kissed the brunet's neck before lightly sucking on it. He applied more pressure until he knew it would leave a hickey, smiling as he moved up to kiss Ling Tong's jaw.

"Later," he said, "once you're a little more healed."

"I'm plenty healed now," he argued, moving his hands down the brunet's back and under his pants, "god, you've got the nicest ass in all of China."

Ling Tong's blush deepened as he pulled Gan Ning's arms back up to his hips, kissing him again.

"No more for now," he said, pressing their foreheads together. Gan Ning tilted his head slightly and kissed Ling Tong's chin before settling down. The thought of the shapeshifters and Sun Quan bothered him again, keeping him from sleeping until the pirate's even breathing soothed him enough to convince him to return to dreaming.


	23. Suspirio

Ling Tong's eyelids fluttered open as he felt hands roaming all over him. He looked up at Gan Ning, who seemed entranced, and finally recognized the pirate's weight on him. Ling Tong opened his mouth to ask if he should be sitting up like that, but Gan Ning spoke first.

"You're so amazing," he whispered in wonder, "I'm so lucky to have you."

"Quit feeling me up, you still aren't healed." Gan Ning lowered himself to rest on the brunet, who felt slightly suffocated by the weight.

"Yeah, I know. But if I'm well enough to walk-"

"Hardly," Ling Tong reminded, "and even if you can walk, with some struggling, doing... that would still be too much exertion."

"Come on, cutie..."

"I told you to stop calling me that, and I'm not changing my mind. What would you do if I was injured?"

"Well, you'd just be laying there, wouldn't you?" Ling Tong rolled his eyes.

"If I was injured and wanted to be on top," he specified, watching the pirate tilt his head only slightly as he rolled them over so the brunet was on top. Ling Tong sat up so his weight wasn't on the blond's chest.

"What, if you were begging for me? I'd probably let you do it."

"Trust me, you wouldn't. Not if you saw me the way you are now," he said, gently running his fingers across some of the bandages wrapped around Gan Ning's chest.

"What if I do let you top?"

"What, you were serious about that?" Ling Tong had the urge to laugh, settling for shaking his head as a small smile found its way onto his lips. "How desperate are you?"

"Pretty desperate," the pirate answered, shrugging. Ling Tong lowered himself and was about to kiss him before there was a knock on the door.

"Uh, wait, I'm not- shit, this is your room..."

"Master Ling Tong?" The muffled voice outside the door sounded familiar, but Ling Tong took a second to figure it out. "I assumed you would be here when you weren't in your room. Lord Sun Quan would like you to report to him."

Ling Tong sighed as he realized the voice belonged to Lu Xun, allowing himself to continue living in the fantasy of not having everyone in the army knowing about his personal life.

"Tell me how it goes, baby," Gan Ning said, almost startling Ling Tong as he tapped the brunet's hip with his fingers.

"Stop... ugh, nevermind." Gan Ning smiled at his small victory and Ling Tong got up, fixing his hair in front of the mirror before rushing out the door.

* * *

"So this was, uh... the imposter?" Ling Tong asked, warily inspecting the skeleton that once held the face of Zhou Yu.

"Yes... oddly enough, its clothes disintegrated with its skin..." Sun Quan answered, still in the same somber mood as the previous day.

"That doesn't mean we can't take our clothes off, though," Guo Jia spoke up. Ling Tong rolled his eyes.

"That information is completely useless to me," he informed, raising a brow when the strategist chuckled.

"Just so you didn't think I wasn't bathing," he assured, amused that Ling Tong's thoughts immediately went elsewhere. Sun Quan cleared his throat, catching the duo's attention.

"Chen Gong woke up and we attempted to interrogate him on what he plans to do next, but he wouldn't answer. His body is damaged from our... methods, but he's still alive." The three men turned towards the door as Lu Xun knocked before walking in with a towel in his hand. "Ah, there you are. Guo Jia, please take a look at this."

Lu Xun walked forward at the same time as the strategist, meeting him halfway and tenderly opening the towel, revealing two broken halves of a chopstick. Ling Tong raised his brows as he recognized it as the shapeshifter that had posed as Gan Ning. Guo Jia hummed as he inspected the halves, nodding as he placed them back into Lu Xun's covered hands.

"This one is still alive, although unable to transform," he said. Lu Xun nodded in agreement.

"I've had reports of it attempting to move, so I figured that might be the case."

"How did it end up broken like this?" Guo Jia asked, and Lu Xun looked away, frowning.

"I wasn't thinking and... I panicked." He paused for a moment before deciding to go into more detail. "I had picked it up as it tried to roll away, and felt it move in my hand. I snapped it on reflex..."

"Mm, well, this one belongs to a mute species, so it wouldn't have done us much good, anyway. If you'd like to dispose of it, simply dip it into some liquor."

"So even though it's a different species, it has the same weakness?" Sun Quan asked, his curiosity piqued. Guo Jia simply nodded, giving a hum of approval. "Lu Xun, dispose of it."

Lu Xun bowed and left the room with a "Yes, my lord."

"Just so you know, I can tell you anything Chen Gong could," Guo Jia spoke in synchronization with the door closing.

"You sure are eager to get rid of him," Ling Tong noted, slightly suspicious.

"And you wouldn't if he had expressed a desire to take Gan Ning's life?"

"Well, it's not Gan Ning we're talking about here..." Ling Tong said, averting his eyes as he realized the blond had a point. Guo Jia chuckled at the show of embarrassment. Sun Quan gave them a strange look before clearing his throat again.

"Guo Jia, I've decided that you may continue to stay here in Wu, but if I get even a single report of you acting strangely..."

"You won't. You have my word," Guo Jia said, "but I strongly recommend you do something about Chen Gong soon."

"Yes, I believe I'll take that advice. You two are dismissed, but I'd like to speak with you again later, Guo Jia."

With that, the two left, with Guo Jia following Ling Tong to the kitchen. They ate together in spite of Ling Tong's small amount of protesting, but he quickly figured it'd be fine as long as Gan Ning didn't find out. He found it awkward and lonely to eat alone, anyway. The brunet finally got Guo Jia to leave him as he brought a plate of meat buns back to his pirate.

"Aw, you brought me some food?" Gan Ning noted as soon as Ling Tong was through the door to his room.

"What do you mean, 'aw'? How is it cute that I'm keeping you from starving while you're in too much pain to do anything yourself?" Gan Ning clicked his tongue as Ling Tong set the plate and glass of water he had brought with him on the nightstand.

"I don't know," he said, picking up a meat bun, "you just make everything seem cute."

"I don't know what the hell kind of eyes you're looking out of. Maybe you should get them checked."

"What, low self esteem all of a sudden?" Gan Ning asked amusedly before taking a bite of the meat bun.

"No, it's just that I'm a man," Ling Tong said, crossing his legs unconsciously. Gan Ning laughed as the brunet quickly uncrossed them, blushing.

"You can be a man and still be cute," he said, pointing the half eaten bun at Ling Tong, "cutie."

"Fine then. You're cute, too," the brunet retorted, crossing his arms as opposed to his legs.

"Yeah, I know." Ling Tong sighed as he gave up, simply waiting in silence for the blond to finish his food before taking the emptied plate and glass again.

"I'll refill your glass and bring it back," he mumbled, knowing the pirate was smiling behind him as he walked out the door. Ling Tong sighed as he wondered how his life even got to the point where he was acting like a housewife for the man he used to hate more than anything.


	24. Bellus

Ling Tong sighed as he softly closed the door behind him with a refilled glass of water in hand. He ignored the strange look Gan Ning gave him as he set the glass on the pirate's nightstand before trying to leave again. Gan Ning pulled the brunet onto the bed and pushed him onto his back. Just as Ling Tong was about to remind the blond that he still wasn't healed, he found himself laughing as Gan Ning tickled him.

"St-stop! Cut... cut it out!" he begged between laughs, unable to fight the smile on his face. Gan Ning smiled back as he continued for a minute, giving the brunet a quick kiss as he finally stopped. He moved to kiss him again, but Ling Tong turned away, still struggling to catch his breath. He took a deep breath as he finally calmed down.

"What was that for?" he asked, a small smile lingering on his face.

"You looked a little gloomy," Gan Ning replied, shrugging.

"I'm not gloomy..." Ling Tong frowned as he remembered what happened on the way back to Gan Ning's room.

_"You know, there's a difference between love and lust."_

Ling Tong had waved Guo Jia off, saying he knew full well there was a difference and that it didn't concern him. However, the strategist's words echoed in Ling Tong's mind during the trip back. He realized in the seemingly infinite amount of time he had before he reached the door that the only non-sexual thing Gan Ning had ever done for him that he could remember was save his life, and even that could have just been so the pirate would have a chance with him.

"Look, you're doing it again!" Gan Ning pointed out, lightly poking the brunet's cheek and following it with a kiss.

"It's nothing. I was just, uh... thinking about that nightmare." Gan Ning wrapped his arms around Ling Tong when he looked like he was about to sit up.

"C'mon baby, you're a terrible liar," he said, "you were fine before, so how come you're only just now thinking about it?"

"I, uh..." Ling Tong paused for a moment, feeling anxious for some reason, "I remembered more of it..."

"Yeah? Tell me what really happened." They had a staring contest for a moment before Ling Tong sighed, looking away.

"Someone told me that, uh... there's a different between love and... lust," he said, mumbling the last word as he mentally cursed at how difficult it suddenly was to speak.

"Yeah, and?" Ling Tong didn't answer, and Gan Ning frowned. "It was Guo Jia, wasn't it?"

"Y-yeah," Ling Tong admitted, noticing the way the pirate's grip around him tightened.

"I already said more than once how much I love you. What, you didn't believe me?" It was clear that Gan Ning was getting frustrated, and Ling Tong could only swallow as he continued looking away. "Do you really think I would have gone all across the battlefield just to save you if I didn't love you? Do you have any idea how scared out of my mind I was when I was told you were fighting Zhang Liao alone? And what about you, huh? Do you even love me back?"

"I... of course I do, but..." Ling Tong tried to sit up again so he could turn away as he felt tears prickling at his eyes, but the pirate's grip didn't lessen any, and Ling Tong silently cursed the way his voice shook as he spoke. "I'm sorry. I know I'm an idiot. I shouldn't have said anything."

"Baby, I'm not mad at you," the blond assured, gently rubbing a finger under the brunet's eye and catching a tear, "I'm just tired of that jackass trying to get between us. How can you possibly think he's a decent guy?"

"He is... he's just..."

"I want you to stay away from him from now on. While you're alone, at least." Ling Tong was unresponsive again, and Gan Ning sighed, sitting up.

"What are you doing? You shouldn't be getting up..." It was Gan Ning's turn to be unresponsive as he carefully stood up and started walking towards the door. "No, Gan Ning... Xingba, wait! Even if you don't like him, you can't just kill him or anything!"

"Relax, I've just gotta take a piss." At that, Ling Tong sat down again and laughed, blushing slightly. He simply waited for his pirate to return, but began to worry after he took a while. Just as he was about to get up, however, Gan Ning came back, and Ling Tong was relieved to find there wasn't any blood on him.

"What took you so long?" he asked, crossing his arms as Gan Ning lied down and patted the space next to him.

"I figured while it was easy to clean up, and since you won't sleep with me..." Ling Tong scoffed, laying down and propping his head up on his hand as he leaned on his elbow.

"At least now I won't have to worry about you feeling me up," he said, pretending to be annoyed when Gan Ning pulled the brunet closer to him and started kissing at his neck. He flinched when he felt teeth.

"Hey, don't bite too hard," he said, clicking his tongue when the pirate applied more pressure out of spite. He quickly released the brunet before it could actually hurt.

"Since when do I bite hard?" he asked, moving back slightly to stretch before draping his arm around Ling Tong again.

"Well, there was that time you left a mark on my side..."

"Come on, that was a while ago."

"How did that even happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"How did you end up biting me there?" Gan Ning looked genuinely confused.

"You just answered your own question. I bit you, that's all."

"No, I mean, it's nowhere near my neck, or anything. Why did you bite there?" Ling Tong asked, sighing as he reluctantly sat up to remove his shirt after feeling a hand under it.

"What, you think your neck is all I care about? I can bite other places," he said, gently pressing his teeth into the brunet's shoulder for emphasis. He then started placing little nibbles down his side before turning Ling Tong over and gently closing his mouth around a nipple.

"Please don't bite that," he said, genuine concern lacing his voice. Gan Ning smiled, releasing the bud and kissing it, which drew a sigh of relief from Ling Tong.

"You know I wouldn't hurt you like that," he said, reaching up to brush some of that soft hair out of the brunet's face, but frowning slightly as it fell back into place. "Your hair's doing that thing again."

"What thing?" Ling Tong smiled as he subtly moved his head every time Gan Ning tried to pin his hair behind his ear, pretending it was an accident.

"I don't get it. It only does that sometimes..." Ling Tong resisted the urge to laugh and realized the pirate was right when he stopped moving.

"Maybe it doesn't like you," he teased.

"What, did I kill your hair's dad, too?" the pirate joked, but quickly gasped and swore under his breath, looking away.

"Well, yeah, technically." Gan Ning curiously looked up again when Ling Tong didn't seem angry.

"What, you don't care anymore?" he asked, carefully examining the brunet's face.

"Of course I care, but I know you're not doing it on purpose," he said, "I guess I'm not as sensitive about it, though."

"That's good. Not that I'm gonna make dead dad jokes all the time, or anything." Ling Tong gave a sigh.

"Alright, that's enough," he said. Gan Ning nodded, whispering an apology.

"Will you keep laying with me? It's boring around here." Ling Tong thought for a moment.

"We could play Go," he suggested, and the pirate immediately shook his head.

"I don't get why you like it so much," he said, moving up and positioning the brunet so his head was on the blond's chest. Ling Tong propped himself up again.

"No, dummy, you're still injured." He looked away once a bright smile graced the pirate's face at the nickname.

"That's so cute. You're so cute," Gan Ning said, holding the brunet tighter. He turned onto his side for a better angle and decided to stay there. Ling Tong eventually stopped blushing and lied down again, staying until Gan Ning fell asleep. Bored and with too many conflicting feelings floating in his mind, Ling Tong slowly got up, careful not to disturb the blond's sleep, and decided to visit Guo Jia once more.


	25. Adnuo

After a short while of searching, Ling Tong found that Guo Jia had ended up in the kitchen again and was talking to Lianshi, who appeared to have just finished eating. He nodded and appeared to be saying something as she placed a dish in the sink and hesitated there slightly before deciding she would leave a servant to clean the dishes, as she often occupied herself with their chores for a reason Ling Tong couldn't fathom. That incredibly long, soft looking ponytail whipped to the side as she turned her head and titled it, appearing to ask the strategist a question. Ling Tong had always found himself jealous of that hair and wished his would grow faster, but it was almost as if his hair hit its limit and could no longer grow. He sighed wistfully, walking closer to hear what they were saying.

"Yes, but they've managed to get through it all."

"I don't think you have to keep testing them like that," Lianshi said, smiling as she noticed Ling Tong in the doorway. He looked away, pretending he wasn't trying to eavesdrop.

"I suppose you're right," Guo Jia agreed, giving a matching smile as he too noticed the brunet. For a moment, Ling Tong swore the two could be siblings. Quickly dispersing that thought from his head, he walked forward slightly.

"Guo Jia, I wanted to talk to you. Maybe over a game of Go?" Guo Jia exchanged glances with Lianshi before nodding and following Ling Tong out of the kitchen. "But just so you know, I'm actually not too great at it."

* * *

_Clack._

"That was a quick move..."

_Clack._

"You're one to talk. Were you thinking about what move to make first as we walked to your room?"

_Clack._

"Maybe. But anyway, I wanted to talk about what you said before. I shrugged it off at the time, but I didn't really respond. I know Gan Ning loves me, and I, uh... I feel... similarly."

"You always look so adorable when your face is red like that," Guo Jia pointed out, chuckling when it made the problem worse. Ling Tong looked away, shaking his head.

"Don't change the subject. Gan Ning said that he doesn't want me anywhere near you anymore-"

"So you ignored his request and decided to invite me to your room instead?"

Ling Tong bit his lip, trying to focus on his next move and think of a response at the same time.

"Think of it as a parting gift if you don't change your attitude soon," he said, feeling slightly guilty considering the strategist had done nothing but help Wu when he really thought about it. "I know you two can get along, you just have to stop flirting with me and generally trying to get between us. Gan Ning is tired of it, and I am, too."

"Mm, I've been trying to control myself. It's still your move, by the way."

Ling Tong closed his eyes, finding it didn't help him figure out what to do when he wasn't looking at the board. After another short moment, he moved a piece forward.

"Gan Ning's asleep right now, and he knows he's not supposed to be walking, but he'll probably come looking for me when he wakes up, anyway. You'd better be ready to apologize for real this time, or he really might kill you."

_Clack._

"He doesn't know our weakness, does he? You failed to mention that when I was in the room..."

"Well, no, but he could still injure you. I guess I keep forgetting you can only die by coming into contact with alcohol."

"It's your move again."

"Uh..." Ling Tong looked at the board, suddenly losing his motivation to play, "pass."

Just as he feared, Guo Jia smiled as he captured one of Ling Tong's pieces, setting it beside the board. Ling Tong pursed his lips together as the strategist gestured for him to make a move. The game went on for a while longer, and Ling Tong was able to capture a few of the blond's pieces, but was mostly completely destroyed. The brunet looked at the board and, seeing how badly he had lost, couldn't help but laugh.

"I told you I wasn't any good," he said, laying back as Guo Jia was courteous enough to put the game away for him.

"I thought you were being modest," Guo Jia replied, appearing to be in an equally pleasant mood, "but it's good that you can love the game even if you're bad at it."

"It kinda makes it better, actually. I mean, losing all the time gets pretty boring, but it's so satisfying to actually capture a piece." Guo Jia simply hummed, gently placing the box beside him and staring at the brunet. Ling Tong noticed and propped himself up on his elbows. Sighing, he sat up fully before standing up.

"Are we done here?" Ling Tong considered it for a moment as he stretched.

"Yeah," he said once he finished, "Gan Ning will probably wake up soon, so..."

"And I'm assuming you wouldn't like to find me still in your room when you return..."

"Absolutely. But that doesn't mean you can be here when I'm not around, either." Guo Jia nodded almost solemnly, standing up and walking out of the room first and pausing to make sure he went the opposite direction of the brunet once they were both out in the hall. Ling Tong made his way back to the pirate's room relatively slowly, not at all eager to explain why he had been gone if the blond was awake. He tried to no avail to think of some kind of excuse before figuring Gan Ning would know he was lying and it'd make the truth sound worse than he already would have made it out to be.

"Hey, you were gone again," Gan Ning said, already in a sitting position. Ling Tong silently cursed his luck. The best outcome would have been if the pirate was still asleep. Ling Tong could have just easily slipped back into bed next to him and the blond wouldn't have suspected a thing...

"I cleared things up with you know who," Ling Tong said somewhat cautiously as he sat next to Gan Ning, who squinted in confusion for a second before realizing who he meant and huffing.

"You sure do like talking to that guy, huh? Even after I told you not to?" Ling Tong scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I told him that I'm not worried about what he said, and that we BOTH want him to stop getting between us, alright? I told him to stop flirting with me, and... Xingba?" Ling Tong lost his train of thought as Gan Ning stood up and walked over to his closet before crouching down and rummaging through the mess of clothes and bells at the bottom. He pulled out a small pair of bells on two strings that were tied at the top, jingling them slightly before standing up and bringing them over to Ling Tong.

"I want you to wear these from now on." Ling Tong briefly thought about where he would even put them before shaking his head.

"Wouldn't that make me a copycat or something?"

"I always had my men wear bells like me." Ling Tong raised a brow at the wording and Gan Ning quickly clarified. "My crewmates, I mean."

"Well, I'm not your crewmate," Ling Tong reminded, keeping the bells in his hand regardless.

"But you're still mine. Plus, if you wear those, maybe what's his shit will remember not to hit on you." Ling Tong chuckled.

"Forget his name again?"

"Uh... maybe, but it's not like it matters."

"Am I the only one you call by name?" Ling Tong asked, suddenly very amused by the idea. "You always go for nicknames like 'kid' or 'old man' or even 'jackass' like with Guo Jia, but who do you call by name besides me?"

"Guo Jia, that's it. I knew it was Guo something... but, uh, I call Sun Quan by name, I guess. Other than that, you might be the only one." Gan Ning thought for a moment, laying down again. "You're definitely the only one I call by style, though."

"And what would that style be?" Ling Tong teased, lying down as well to idly rub his finger in soothing little circles on the pirate's shoulder.

"My Gongji," he whispered, pulling the brunet closer to him. "By the way, you still went completely against what I said."

"It's fine," Ling Tong quickly reassured, "he'll behave from now on. If he doesn't, then maybe I really will start wearing these bells."

"You still need to be punished." Ling Tong shivered slightly, reveling in the pirate's warm breath against his ear.

"A good punishment..?" he asked, innocently batting his eyelashes.

"It's gonna be so good... you won't be able to walk right for the rest of your life..."

"I thought that was already going to happen." Gan Ning smiled.

"I'll do it extra hard, then," he promised, tiredly nuzzling the brunet's face.

"Can't wait," Ling Tong mumbled, unsure if he was being sarcastic, and placed the bells on the nightstand as he relaxed next to Gan Ning. He was at least thankful that the pirate finally had the sense to stop trying to sleep with him while he was still injured, but he suspected he'd be trying again later. He wondered if it would really be so dangerous to let him have his way a little early, considering the blond apparently had no trouble walking already. He stayed for a while again, only getting up to have a rather lonely training session and an even lonelier bath. He really couldn't wait for Gan Ning to feel better.


	26. Calefactus

Upon waking up, Ling Tong found that Gan Ning wasn't in bed with him. He sighed, finding himself too tired to be annoyed that the pirate not only left before the brunet woke up after complaining twice when Ling Tong had done the same to him, but also that he was walking around again without the brunet to catch him if he happened to stumble. Ling Tong rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stood up, taking a moment to regain his balance when his vision temporarily went black.

Ling Tong searched for a while, quickly grabbing something to eat when he didn't find Gan Ning in the kitchen, and eventually found him talking to a small group of soldiers in the hall. Ling Tong leaned his shoulder against one of the walls, watching Gan Ning laugh as he nodded at something one of the soldiers had asked him. The blond quickly noticed Ling Tong, however, and shooed the soldiers away, saying he had to leave.

"You weren't there when I woke up," Ling Tong imitated, smirking when Gan Ning had a slight hint of guilt in his eyes.

"What's the matter? You left when I fell asleep, too." Ling Tong rolled his eyes, still smiling as he took a few steps forward so that he was only a few inches away from the pirate.

"I was making fun of you. I don't really care," he said, and he could swear Gan Ning was disappointed, "besides, what are you doing up? Are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was supposed to visit the doctor today, anyway," he mumbled, making a face. Ling Tong's eyes lit up.

"And? Did you go yet?" Gan Ning tilted his head and squinted slightly at the look in the brunet's eyes.

"Yeah. Doctor said no alcohol for a week." Ling Tong let his shoulders drop slightly in disappointment.

"What? Only a week? I think you should have to go two weeks like I did."

"Hey, that's not fair. What did I ever do to you?" Ling Tong was about to remind him, but kept his mouth shut, not wanting to ruin the pleasant atmosphere between them.

"I'm just still bitter about having to wait so long..." Gan Ning smiled at that, and Ling Tong raised a brow.

"Well, guess what? My week started yesterday," he said, excitedly. Ling Tong threw his arms up in defeat, turning his back to Gan Ning.

"So what, you only have to wait 6 days? This is completely unfair..." Ling Tong didn't jump when he felt the pirate wrap his arms around the brunet's waist, simply leaning his head on a tattooed shoulder instead. "By the way, what were you talking about with those guys?"

"They were asking about how I got all beat up like this. I may have, uh... stretched the truth a little," he answered, kissing Ling Tong's cheek when the brunet raised a brow.

"How so? There's not really much you could lie about. They can clearly see you got hurt." Gan Ning let go of the brunet only to run his hands up his sides and keep them there.

"I may have said that you needed saving and that I valiantly rushed in to rescue you-"

"No."

"-and got slashed from an enemy or two I didn't notice while I was saving you." Gan Ning finished, ignoring the interruption.

"But I didn't need saving. It was your turn to get saved this time," Ling Tong reminded, turning around to jab a finger at the pirate's chest, silently regretting that he wasn't slightly gentler.

"Yeah, I know. I just didn't want them to know that I was just slumped pathetically against a tree when you found me." Ling Tong chuckled at that and Gan Ning clicked his tongue, embracing the brunet again. "I love you."

"Hey, don't say that out in the hall, alright?" Gan Ning tilted his head.

"I love you," he repeated.

"Look, anyone could hear-"

"I love you so much," the blond interrupted, giving Ling Tong a quick kiss. "Look how red your face is."

"I-it's your fault, anyway," he stuttered, clearing his throat. Before he could say anything else, Gan Ning spoke again.

"Hey, let's go out to the docks," he suggested, and Ling Tong couldn't help but notice the way the pirate's eyes sparkled at the thought of the sea.

"You don't think you're going for a swim, do you?" the brunet joked.

"Nah, I just wanna see the ocean. It's been a while... I miss it."

"You really love the sea, huh?"

"Almost as much as I love you," Gan Ning answered, nuzzling the brunet's cheek and laughing as he tried to get away.

"Alright, fine. Let's go to the docks already," he said, sighing after a few seconds of pulling at the pirate's arms, which were around his waist once more. He stood there calmly enough until Gan Ning hauled him up and threw the brunet over his shoulder.

"Let's go then!" Ling Tong was sure his face was as red as it would get.

"P-put me down! What if someone sees?! How would we even explain this?!"

"Who cares? Everyone knows about us, anyway. In fact..." Gan Ning set Ling Tong down, and the brunet sighed in relief before he felt the blond's arms at his back and behind his knees and almost had a chance to fight back before he was picked up again.

"No, no, no, this is even worse!" Gan Ning only laughed, bouncing the brunet in his arms just once before walking off towards where he was pretty sure one of the exits was. Ling Tong eventually gave up, silently thankful he didn't have to walk all the way to the docks. He found he actually didn't mind be held at all, but he was sure he'd change his mind if someone were to see them.

"How did I end up like this..." he mumbled, having to avert his gaze so he wouldn't laugh as Gan Ning looked down at him curiously, still smiling. Ling Tong thankfully prevented the outburst, but still couldn't fight a small grin as the pirate happily carried him off.


	27. Aecor

"Alright, that's enough," Ling Tong said, noticing Gan Ning was getting tired more easily than usual, "you can put me down now."

The pirate paused for a moment before he complied, sitting down and sighing as he looked up at the sky and tried to catch his breath. Ling Tong shook his head, offering a hand to pull the blond to his feet. Gan Ning decided to lay down instead.

"Come on, I thought you wanted to see the ocean," the brunet reminded, gesturing in the direction of the docks, which still couldn't quite be seen from where they were.

"Yeah," Gan Ning agreed, sitting up, "maybe it's your turn to carry me."

"I don't think I could," Ling Tong said, a hint of worry in his voice, "but if you can't walk, I can support you."

"Nah, I'm fine. I was just kidding," Gan Ning insisted, struggling slightly to get up as he refused Ling Tong's hand. The brunet rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to be so stubborn. At least walk close to me so I can catch you when you fall." Gan Ning squinted at him.

"What do you mean, 'when' I fall? My balance is perfect." As if on cue, he stumbled forward, wincing as Ling Tong pushed a hand to his chest to keep him upright.

"See? Now stay close to me," the brunet repeated, sighing when the pirate wrapped his arms around him, "not that close."

"Why not? You said you were gonna support me." Ling Tong suppressed another sigh, refusing to give the pirate a reaction. He simply started walking and smiled slightly when Gan Ning found it too difficult to walk and hold the brunet at the same time. He reluctantly let go with a kiss to Ling Tong's shoulder.

"You know I couldn't really feel that through my clothes..." he informed, smiling when the pirate clicked his tongue and kissed the brunet's cheek instead. Ling Tong's smile dropped off his face as he gasped, realizing Lu Xun had looked over. The strategist simply smiled and continued with his walk, and Ling Tong grabbed Gan Ning's hand and increased their pace towards the docks, which were finally in view.

"Hey, you can't get mad at me for that," the blond protested as he was dragged along, "you asked for it."

"I know, I know," Ling Tong dismissed, slowing down once he heard the sound of wood under his feet. Gan Ning got ahead of him and sat down with his legs over the edge of the pier, leaning back on his hands as he caught his breath again. Ling Tong crossed his arms as he stood for a short while longer before sitting down next to the pirate, figuring they weren't leaving any time soon. He found the sound of the waves and a few seagulls rather soothing and the sight of the sun's reflection glittering off the rippling water more beautiful than ever. Ling Tong suddenly couldn't understand why he'd never paid much attention to the sea before.

"Pretty, huh?" Gan Ning whispered, and Ling Tong turned his head as he realized the pirate had shifted to sit behind him with the brunet between his legs.

"I never really thought much of the sea for some reason," he admitted, "but I guess I also never sat on a pier like this to actually pay attention to it."

"It's life changing." Ling Tong nodded in agreement as Gan Ning rested his head on the brunet's shoulder. "When I first got here, sometimes I just couldn't sleep in the silence inside. I'd come all the way out here to sleep on the docks."

"Most people prefer silence when they're trying to sleep," Ling Tong said, flinching when he felt cool hands under his shirt.

"Kinda chilly out here," he murmured, warming his hands up on Ling Tong's body, who gasped with every movement.

"It's not like it's- my fault! Stop- god, that's cold- stop using me to warm up!" Gan Ning laughed and held the brunet closer. Ling Tong whimpered as he found the pirate's arms were now colder than his hands, which at least had a chance to warm up a bit.

"What else am I gonna use? See any other warm little Gongjis around here?" Gan Ning joked, looking around as if he actually expected to find any. Ling Tong yelped as the pirate slipped a hand under his pants, barely catching the warning that nobody was around that Gan Ning had whispered into his ear.

"At least wait for your hands to warm up!" he protested, pulling at the pirate's arm and giving a shaky, surprised moan as Gan Ning stroked him and ran the thumb of his other hand across a nipple. Ling Tong whimpered again as his length was exposed to the cool air and he leaned back against Gan Ning, letting the pirate do what he wanted.

"Wow..." the blond whispered in amazement at the sight. He moved his hand from playing with the bud it had found to wrap his arm around Ling Tong and pull him backwards. He then let go, which the brunet had whined at, and lied Ling Tong down on his back before kissing him and continuing. Gan Ning pushed Ling Tong's shirt up and braced that hand on the wood beneath them as he stroked himself and his brunet with his other hand. Ling Tong grabbed at the pirate's shoulder, who noticed he was shaking at that point, and brought him down for more kisses, glad he could muffle their sounds as they came. Ling Tong prioritized tucking himself away before he simply lied there, panting and shivering.

"Cold?" Gan Ning asked, wiping the combined mess off the brunet's stomach before pulling his shirt back down. Ling Tong nodded, appreciating having his clothing back where it belonged. The pirate kissed his cheek again and rolled over onto his back, playing with the small bit of fluid that found itself on his own stomach.

"How long are we staying here?" Ling Tong asked, turning onto his side as he cuddled up to the pirate, who somehow wasn't shivering even in his severe lack of clothing. Gan Ning simply gave a barely audible grunt as he closed his eyes, snaking an arm under Ling Tong to hold him closer as he turned back onto his side.

"I guess that means you want to sleep here?" Ling Tong knew the blond wouldn't respond. He sighed, bringing an arm up to rest his head on and entangling his other hand in the pirate's hair, who hummed in contentment.

"Love you," Gan Ning mumbled, and Ling Tong took a moment to register it. He smiled, shifting slightly as he hummed back. The brunet only hoped he wouldn't wake up sore from sleeping on the wood.


	28. Cussilirus

The duo's nap had been interrupted when a messenger, conveniently sent by one Lu Xun, woke them up to announce that Sun Quan was holding an important meeting. Apparently there was an odd guest who demanded everyone's attention for the time being. Gan Ning had groaned his appreciation, complaining that the wood planks made him even more sore than he already was. Ling Tong could hardly disagree.

Upon arriving to the conference room, the two were met with the sight of Guo Jia quietly pleading with a silver haired boy with strange purple eyes as Sun Quan took the foreground, hesitantly explaining that their guest, Taigong Wang, had arrived with the announcement of the shapeshifting dilemma being solved. Apparently, a demon named Da Ji had wandered into their world and decided to cause chaos from within the kingdoms. This apparent mystic was rounding the last few creatures up to send them back to their own realm, and had been kind enough to explain what was going on before taking Guo Jia with him.

"Is there really no way I can stay?" the blond practically begged the mystic, looking as if he was ready to run from the silver haired oddity.

"Did you not understand when I said you do not belong in this world?"

"Similarly to how your demon doesn't belong in the mystic realm..?" Taigong Wang's eyes narrowed slightly, but he covered it with a small grin.

"Shuten has nothing to do with this. Besides, technically he isn't even a real demon," he argued, strangely defensive of whoever it was they were referring to, "but his situation is vastly different from yours. You must return to your own world. I would very much appreciate if you would cease being so difficult, as things were relatively easy thus far and I only have a few more demons to collect before I may leave this world."

"Is there nothing I can do to change your mind?" Guo Jia timidly asked, giving a wary glance to Ling Tong, who looked away and moved some hair behind his ear, sighing in defeat when the pirate next to him playfully flicked it back into place. The strategist smiled at the scene, slightly more resigned to his fate as he bowed and allowed Taigong Wang to teleport him away after one more apology for not having arrived sooner. In an instant, the two were gone, and the atmosphere of the room was dense with confusion.

"Well, that was..."

"Sudden? Unexpected?"

"I was thinking more anti-climactic," the pirate finished, finding Sun Quan's sigh of relief very relatable nonetheless. Their lord dismissed them and Ling Tong caught a glance of Lianshi smiling and rubbing Sun Quan's shoulders as she urged him to get up so they could leave as well.

"So what, you were looking forward to fighting more of those things? It's not like they're much of a challenge. Or are you going to miss-"

"Never. I'm glad that guy's out of the way," Gan Ning immediately answered, and Ling Tong was torn between giving a half-hearted laugh or feeling bad for the strategist. It was strange to have him so suddenly removed from his life, and the brunet wasn't sure how to feel about it.

"Hello, you two," Lu Meng greeted on his way out, "still getting along, I would hope?"

"Uh, yeah. We're fine," Ling Tong affirmed, hoping with all of his heart that Gan Ning wouldn't say anything embarrassing. Thankfully, the pirate had only nodded and given a hum of agreement.

"It's strange that this whole ordeal is over so soon," Lu Meng said, "I'm sure everyone will be suspicious for a while."

"I wonder if Sun Quan's gonna hold another party now that this is over," Gan Ning wondered aloud, shoulders dropping when he realized he couldn't drink yet. Ling Tong snorted, and the pirate made a face at him. Lu Meng smiled at the scene, and Ling Tong realized that the man finally no longer had to act as their babysitter. The brunet felt a small sense of pride.

"I wouldn't be surprised," their superior agreed, "especially since we still haven't held a banquet for the last fight. Although, I suppose it makes sense that our lord was in no mood to celebrate after meeting a certain imposter."

"Yeah, I was wondering about that. I hope he doesn't let it get to him or anything," Ling Tong said, knowing full well how bad depression could be. Thankfully, his previously hours-long moments of tingling, unfounded regret and utter despair were reduced to only brief, passing seconds every so often ever since the night Gan Ning had uncharacteristically apologized to him. The brunet considered bringing it up with the pirate, but decided not to worry him if the effects were so short lived, anyway. There were nights where Ling Tong wanted nothing more to be held, but thankfully the pirate was wrapped around him more often than not.

"I'm gonna go lay down," Gan Ning cut in, snapping Ling Tong out of his thoughts, "on an actual bed this time. I'm still sore from the pier..."

"That and the possibility of you getting sick out there were exactly the reasons why our lord made you stop sleeping on the docks. Did you not learn your lesson?"

"Relax, I'm usually fine with the wood. I was just already sore to begin with," Gan Ning insisted, pointing at his bandages for emphasis. Lu Meng shook his head, leaving at the same time that Gan Ning had decided to walk away. Ling Tong hesitated between them for some reason before jogging after Gan Ning.

"If, uh... if you need anything, I mean... I guess I have nothing better to do..."

"Nothing better to do than cater to me? I think I like the sound of that." Ling Tong closed his eyes as he rolled them, but didn't refute the statement. The brunet thought he'd been lackluster at best with their relationship. He felt, especially with his earlier realization, that he was always the one receiving, in more ways than one. He figured the least he could do was keep the pirate company and bring him a non-alcoholic drink every so often until he recovered.

On the way to Gan Ning's room, the blond had complained that he was hungry, so they took a quick detour to the kitchen, where Gan Ning was beyond relieved to be able to sit again. The pirate seemed to be having trouble keeping his eyes open as he squinted at the food Ling Tong carried to him, closing his eyes and tiredly scratching his forehead as he grabbed a meat bun. Ling Tong finished first, with Gan Ning hardly having eaten anything, as he was practically asleep in his chair. The brunet sighed and took the plate in one hand and the blond's arm in the other as he stood up.

"Come on, you can eat the rest later," he said, helping Gan Ning stand up, "don't fall asleep until we get to your room."

"'s my feather," the pirate mumbled. Ling Tong tilted his head, completely failing to comprehend what he'd just heard.

"What..? Your feathers?" He looked down behind Gan Ning at the two feathers he kept on his clothes, and the pirate shook his head.

"The feather I gave you. How is it?" Ling Tong couldn't help but laugh.

"What do you mean, 'how is it?' It's a feather!"

"Well, you could have lost it or something..." Ling Tong smiled to rival the pirate's frown.

"Well, I didn't. It's in my drawer where I left it," he assured, hauling Gan Ning out of the kitchen, "now let's go. I'll stay with you, alright?"

Gan Ning smiled, apparently satisfied enough in his tired stupor. Ling Tong smiled back, finding how seriously he took the state of the feather more cute than he should have.

'Maybe him calling me cute all the time is starting to rub off on me,' he wondered as they walked back to the pirate's room, 'I can't imagine he'll let me live it down if I accidentally call _him_ 'cutie' or anything like that...'


	29. Erue

Ling Tong pulled his ponytail out as he sat down on Gan Ning's bed, eyeing the plate the pirate had emptied before they had even gotten to his room. He contemplated taking it back to the kitchen, but was in no mood to move. He brought his gaze to the window, staring blankly as a familiar feeling of emptiness crept up on him. Barely able to hear the other man's breathing behind him, Ling Tong closed his eyes, feeling tired in a way that sleep wouldn't cure, nor would it come easily.

He hadn't felt like crying for no reason in a long time. Gan Ning had helped the brunet set a personal record, but he was asleep now that Ling Tong needed his direct support. It was strange returning to a completely blank mind as he felt the tears stream down his face. Ling Tong found it odd, as he had just been smiling not ten minutes ago. If he was in the mood for thinking, he would have sincerely hoped that it was simply the last of his depression making an exit.

He sat there for a long while, eventually laying down, but failing to fall asleep. He noticed that the room was darker than before and reluctantly walked over to the window, where the sky seemed a purplish tint as the sun was setting for the day. He leaned forward slightly and squinted, hoping maybe he could catch a glimpse of the sea from his location, but it was just slightly too far, too obscured by buildings and trees. The brunet sighed and turned around, remembering the chest under the pirate's bed.

He slowly dragged it out, carefully opening it and just staring at the contents. He found the faint glimmer of gold and the occasional jewel somewhat soothing. Ling Tong wondered if, after the war, Gan Ning would consider taking the brunet on some kind of adventure on a ship to find more treasure like this. He wondered if Gan Ning even loved him enough to do so, quickly shaking his head and scowling when he realized he had no reason to doubt the blond.

Ling Tong sighed loudly, leaning back on his hands and staring at the ceiling. When he brought his gaze back down, he realized the pirate was looking at him. He saw Gan Ning's eyes flick from him to the window and back, then down to the small chest he could barely see from his position. The blond sat up, moving over to the other side of the bed and purposely falling off to sit next to the brunet, who couldn't help a smile.

"You really like that treasure, huh? Sure you don't want anything?" Ling Tong considered it for a moment, picking up his birthstone and watching its color change from brownish to gold as he turned it in the dim lighting of the room.

"Maybe this one..." he mumbled, highly appreciative of the warm arms that found themselves around him.

"Only one?" he asked, receiving a slight nod in response. "I've always liked topazes, but they're not as popular as stuff like rubies and diamonds. Everyone wants a diamond ring, you know?"

"Wanna watch the sunset with me?" Ling Tong suggested before standing up, the gem still in his hand, and walked towards the window again. He heard Gan Ning get up without closing the chest and felt his body heat again.

"Are you feeling okay?" the blond asked, and Ling Tong couldn't bring himself to nod. Gan Ning played with the brunet's hair, trying to pin it behind his ear and succeeding after multiple attempts. He hummed, requesting an answer.

"I don't know," Ling Tong started, feeling as if he should say more, but his mind emptied itself again.

"Is it my fault?" the pirate asked in a surprisingly quick reaction. Ling Tong stopped staring at the horizon, where he didn't even have a good view of the sun as the window was mostly pointed southeast, and looked at Gan Ning.

"No," he sighed, "I'm just... not feeling well, I guess."

"It'll pass," Gan Ning assured, pausing to kiss the brunet's cheek, "right?"

"Yeah... it'll pass." Ling Tong held the hand with the topaz still in it in front of himself, carefully opening it and watching the light reflect off the gem as he moved his hand slightly.

"Don't drop it," the pirate warned.

"I won't. Besides, you have more, right?" Gan Ning clicked his tongue, following the noise with another kiss on the cheek.

"Well, like I said, topazes aren't all that popular. I only have a few." Ling Tong hummed as he decided against pretending to throw it out the window to tease Gan Ning. "You know I love you, right?"

"Of course I do," he answered, gaze still fixed on the topaz.

"I love you so much," the blond repeated, "I can't believe I got so lucky. Have you ever even been in a relationship before?"

"No," the brunet replied, finding it easier than he thought it would be to admit he had little experience with love. The next thing he thought came just as easily, but certainly not in a pleasant way.

'Nobody's told me they loved me since my father,' he thought, realizing he had mumbled it out loud when Gan Ning's hands on the brunet's hips somehow seemed more serious. He wondered how a pair of hands could hold emotions.

"You don't deserve that, you know," Gan Ning mused, "feeling bad like this, having nobody to comfort you... I can't imagine what it must have been like for you."

"Well," Ling Tong interrupted, eager to change the subject, "I don't have to deal with that anymore. Like you said, it'll pass. Besides, I have you to comfort me, don't I?"

"Of course, baby," he whispered, and Ling Tong found solace in the nickname he'd grown used to, "and you know I'm sorry, right?"

"You made me think for a second that sleeping with me was the worst mistake you ever made, remember?" Ling Tong reminded, "I know you're sorry."

"Sorry about that, too, I guess. I was thinking about it and forgot to mention your dad first," the pirate said, examining the brunet's face for his reaction, which remained about the same. Ling Tong shivered and closed the window as a breeze began to come through. He then stretched and walked back towards the bed. Gan Ning joined him once the chest was closed and back in its original spot under the bed.

"It's weird that this whole shapeshifting thing is over, but I guess the war's still going on," Ling Tong thought aloud, grabbing one of the pirate's arms and pulling it to rest over himself, shifting slightly as the other arm made its way under him to join the first and complete the encirclement. "I'm glad we can have moments of peace like this."

Gan Ning considered voicing his thoughts that he wouldn't want to live in a completely peaceful world, but decided against it as he wasn't in any mood to start an argument. They talked for a while longer, with Ling Tong eventually falling asleep before the pirate, who was determined to make sure the brunet was feeling alright before he went back to sleep as well. He tiredly kissed the sleeping warrior's cheek once more before joining him in slumber, dreaming of a world of peace. Gan Ning found it wasn't as bad as he thought. He and Ling Tong didn't have to worry about each other on the nonexistent battlefield, they didn't have to attend to meetings, training sessions were optional. The two had even found a cottage on a beautiful island that they seemed to simply teleport to. Little sense as the dream made, Gan Ning woke up that morning with a smile as he watched the brunet go through his usual morning routine.

He was glad to have saved and been saved by none other than his very own Gongji.


End file.
